Droste House
3602 Wells St.
Windsor, Ontario
.STETxY OF THE GOOC N9C1T9
FOREST AVENUE AND SCOTIA fTRIjir'
WEST KILDONAN,
SELECTED LETTERS OF
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL
Jlihil ©bstat.
F. THOMAS BERGH, O.S.B.,
CENSOR DEPUTATUS,
Imprimatur.
EDM. CAN. SURMONT,
VICARIUS GENERALIS.
WESTMONASTERII,
Die 6 NovwtMs, 191?'
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL.
(Foundress of the Order of the Visitation.)
SELECTED LETTERS OF
SAINT JANE FRANCES
DE CHANTAL
TRANSLATED BY
THE SISTERS OF THE VISITATION
HARROW
WITH A PREFACE BY
HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL BOURNE
ARCHBISHOP OF WESTMINSTER
R. & T. WASHBOURNE, LTD.
PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
AND AT MANCHESTER, BIRMINGHAM, AND GLASGOW
All rights reseived IQl8
PREFACE
WE are all apt so to idealise the Saints whom we
love to study and honour, and strive to imitate, that
we are in danger of forgetting that they possessed
a human nature like our own, subject to many trials,
weaknesses and frailties. They had to struggle as
we have to struggle. The only difference is that
their constancy and perseverance were greater far
than ours.
Biographers are often responsible for the false
tendency to which we allude. They like to give us
the finished portrait of the Saints, and only too often
they omit in great part the details of the long and
weary toil that went to make the picture which they
delight to paint.
In the case of some of the Saints we are able to
come nearer to the reality by reading the letters
which have been preserved, in which in their own
handwriting they have set down, without thought
of those who in later days might read their words,
the details of their daily life and struggle. Thus in
vi PREFACE
the few selected Letters of the holy foundress of the
Visitation which are now being published in an
English translation we get glimpses of her real
character and spiritual growth which may be more
helpful to us than many pages of formal biography.
In one place she excuses the brevity of a letter
because she is " feeling the cold to-day and pressed
for time/' In another she tells a Sister, " do every
thing to get well, for it is only your nerves. " Nerves
are evidently not a new malady nor a lately devised
excuse. She knew the weariness of delay: " still no
news from Rome. ... I think His Grace the Arch
bishop would be glad to help us. ... Beg him, I
beseech you, to push on the matter/'
Haste and weather had their effect on her as on
us: " I write in such haste that I forget half of what
I want to say. . . . We will make a chalice veil
for you, but not until the very hot weather is over,
for one cannot work properly while it lasts/'
What mother, especially in these days of sorrow
and anxiety, can read unmoved the Saint's own
words as she speaks of her daughter's death, and of her
fears about her son. " I am almost in despair . . .
so miserable am I about it that I do not know which
way to turn, if not to the Providence of God, there to
bury my longings, confiding to His hands not only
the honour but even the salvation of this already
PREFACE vii
half lost child. Oh! the incomparable anguish of
this affliction. No other grief can come near to it."
And then we feel her mingled grief and joy when
at last she learnt that this, her only son, had given
up his life, fighting for his King, after a humble and
fervent reception of the Sacraments.
Thus in the midst of the daily small worries of
life, and of the great sorrows that at one time or
other fall to the lot of all, we see a brave and generous
soul, with human gifts and qualities like to our own,
treading her appointed path to God.
No one can read her words without carrying there
from fresh courage for his life, and a new determina
tion to battle steadfastly to the end.
FRANCIS CARDINAL BOURNE,
Archbishop of Westminster.
FEAST OF ST. JANE FRANCES
DE CHANTAL,
August 2ist, 1917.
TRANSLATORS' PREFACE
THE letters here translated are, with a few mentioned
exceptions, selected from "Sainte Jeanne- Franc, oise
Frerrryot de Chantal: Sa Vie et ses CEuvres," "First
edition entirely conformable to the original manu
scripts published under the supervision of the
religious of the Visitation of Holy Mary at Annecy,
by E. Plon and Co., rue Garanciere 10, Paris,
The rendering cannot be looked upon as entirely
literal, but the translators have kept as closely to
the original as was consistent with an easy rendering
in modern English.
The circular letter to the Sisters of the Visitation
(page 152) is a remarkable document worthy of the
reader's special attention, as are also the letters to
11 Dom John of St. Francis " on St. Francis de Sales,
and the subtle manifestation of St. Jane Frances'
own state of soul in her letter to " A great Servant
of God."
It has been thought better to leave the super-
ix
x TRANSLATORS PREFACE
scription heading all the Saint's letters, ' Vive
Jesus " (Let Jesus reign), as in the original, and
untranslated.
The title of " Sister Deposed " given to the imme
diate predecessor in office of the actual Superior is
peculiar to the Visitation Order.
There are, as will be seen, a few slight omissions,
but only when the matter was of no interest or
importance.
The Saint, as the reader will observe, does not
keep to any fixed rule in regard to capital letters.
CONTENTS
LETTER 1'AGE
JUDGMENT OF ST. FRANCIS ON THE VIRTUES
OF MOTHER DE CHANTAL - I
I. TO ST. FRANCIS DE SALES - 3
II. TO THE SAME - - 4
III. TO M. LEGROS- - 5
IV. THE DUKE OF SAVOY TO ST. JANE FRANCES DE
CHANTAL - 6
V. TO MADAME D'AUXERRE 7
VI. TO ST. FRANCIS DE SALES - 9
VII. TO THE SISTERS OF THE MONASTERY OF
ANNECY - 1 1
VIII. TO SISTER J. C. DE BRECHARD - 12
IX. TO SISTER P. M. DE CHATEL - 15
X. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE - 17
XI. TO THE SAME - 2O
XII. TO THE SAME - 23
XIII. TO SISTER P. M. DE CHATEL - - 27
XIV. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE - 30
XV. TO SISTERS P. M. DE CHATEL AND M. A. DE
BLONAY - 33
XVI. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE - 37
XVII. TO MADAME DE GOUFFIER - - 40
XVIII. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE - 42
XIX. SISTER M. A. DE BLONAY - 46
XX. TO THE SAME - - 49
xi
xii CONTENTS
LETTEH PAGE
XXI. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE - - ' 51
XXII. TO THE SAME - '55
XXIII. TO MOTHER J. C. DE BRECHARD - 58
XXIT. TO M. DE NEUCHEZE - - 60
XXV. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE - - 6l
XXVI. TO MADAME DE LA FLECHERE - 64
XXVII. TO SISTER P. J. DE MONTHOUX - 65
XXVIII. TO M. MICHEL FAVRE - - 68
XXIX. TO SISTER A. M. ROSSET - - ' 71
XXX. TO SISTER P. J. DE MONTHOUX - ' 72
XXXI. TO MADAME DE LA FLECHERE - 73
XXXII. TO MOTHER J. C. DE BRECHARD - • 75
XXXIII. TO MOTHER P. M. DE CHATEL - 76
XXXIV. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE - - 77
XXXV. TO SISTER M. A. HUMBERT 79
XXXVI. TO THE SISTERS OF THE VISITATION AT
BOURGES - 8O
XXXVII. TO THE SISTERS OF THE VISITATION AT
MOULINS 8l
XXXVIII. TO MOTHER P. M. DE CHATEL 83
XXXIX. TO MADEMOISELLE DE CHANTAL - - 85
XL. TO MOTHER J. C. DE BRECHARD - 87
XLI. TO MADEMOISELLE DE CHANTAL - - QO
XLII. TO SISTER M. M. LEGROS - 92.
XLIII. TO MADAME DU TERTRE - 94
XLIV. TO M. DE PALIERNE - 95
XLV. TO ST. FRANCIS DE SALES - - IOO
XLVI. TO MADAME DE LA FLECHERE - IO2
XLVII. TO THE COUNTESS DE TOULONJON -, IO3
XLVIII. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE - - IO5
XLIX. TO M. DE NEUCHEZE - IO8
L. TO MOTHER A. C. DE BEAUMONT - IIO
LI. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE - - - 112
CONTENTS xiii
LETTER PAGE
LII. TO MOTHER A. C. DE BEAUMONT - - Il6
LIII. TO MOTHER M. H. DE CHASTELLUX " Il8
LIV. TO SISTER M. M. MILLETOT • 123
LV. TO SISTER F. G. DE LA GRAVE - - 124
LVI. TO THE BISHOP OF AUTUN - - 125
LVII. TO SISTER A. M. ROSSET - - I2J
LVIII. TO THE REV. FATHER DOM JOHN DE SAINT
FRANCOIS - - 129
LIX. TO A RELIGIOUS OF THE FIRST MONASTERY
OF THE VISITATION AT PARIS - 139
LX. TO THE COUNTESS DE TOULONJON - 14!
LXI. TO SISTER A. C. DE SAUTEREAU - - 144
LXII. TO MOTHER A. C. DE BEAUMONT - - 146
LXIII. TO THE SAME - 148
LXIV. TO MOTHER M. A. FICHET - - 149
LXV. TO THE SISTERS OF THE VISITATION - 152
LXVI. TO SISTER A. M. DE LAGE DE PUYLAURENS 164
LXVII. TO THE BARON DE CHANTAL - l66
LXVIII. TO THE SAME - 167
LXIX. TO M. DE COULANGES - 1 68
LXX. TO THE COUNTESS DE TOULONJON - 169
LXXI. TO THE SAME - 170
LXXII. TO MOTHER M. A. FICHET - - IJl
LXXIII. TO MOTHER A. C. DE BEAUMONT - - 173
LXXIV. TO A VISITATION SUPERIOR - 175
LXXV. TO MOTHER J. H. DE GERARD - 176
LXXVI. TO SISTER F. A. DE LA CROIX DE FESIGNEY - 179
LXXVII. TO ST. VINCENT DE PAUL - - l8l
LXXVIII. TO THE COUNTESS DE TOULONJON - 183
LXXIX. TO MOTHER FAVRE (EXTRACT) - 185
LXXX. TO SISTER A. M. CLEMENT- - l86
LXXXl. TO MOTHER C. C. DE CREMAUX DE LA
GRANGE - - - - - iS
xiv CONTENTS
LETTER PAGE
LXXXII. TO M. POITON - 1 89
LXXXIII. TO DOM GALICE - - 191
LXXXIV. TO THE SAME - 1 93
LXXXV. TO MOTHER A. M. CLEMENT - 194
LXXXVI. TO SISTER M. D. GOUBERT - 195
LXXXVII. TO DOM GALICE - - - 196
LXXXVIII. TO SISTER M. A. DE MORVILLE - - 198
LXXXIX. TO M. DE COYSIA - - 2OI
XC. TO THE COUNTESS DE TOULONJON - 203
XCI. TO MGR. ANDRt FR&MYOT - - 205
XCII. TO A BLIND SISTER - 2°8
XCIII. TO SISTER B. M. DE HARAUCOURT - 2OQ
XCIV. TO SISTER P. J. DE MONTHOUX - - 211
XCV. TO M. NOEL BRULART - 2I4
XCVI. TO THE COUNTESS DE TOULONJON - 21 6
XCVII. TO M. NOEL BRULART (EXTRACT) - - 2l8
XCVIII. TO THE COUNTESS DE TOULONJON - 219
XCIX. TO SISTER M. A. DE RABUTIN - 224
C. TO M. NOEL BRULART - 225
CI. TO MOTHER M. A. LE ROY - 229
CII. TO SISTER A. L. DE MARIN DE SAINT
MICHEL - - - 231
CIII. TO THE ABBfj DE VAUX - - 234
CIV. TO A GREAT SERVANT OF GOD - - 237
CV. TO MOTHER A. M. DE RABUTIN - - 243
CVI. TO ST. VINCENT DE PAUL - - 244
CVII. TO SISTER C. M. F. DE C USANCE - - 246
CVIII. TO SISTER J. B. GOJOS - - 248
CIX. TO SISTER L. A. DE LA FAYETTE - - 249
CX. TO THE DUCHESS DE MONTMORENCY - 252
CXI. TO A NOVICE - " 254
JUDGMENT OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES
ON THE VIRTUES OF MOTHER
DE GHANTAL
" MY brother de Thorens," said St. Francis to one
of his friends, " travelled last month into Burgundy
to fetch his little wife, and brought back with her
a mother-in-law whom neither he is worthy of having
nor I of serving. God has given her to me. She
has come to be my daughter in order that I may
teach her to die to the world and to live to Jesus
Christ. Urged by God's design over her she has
left all, and has provided for all with a strength
and prudence not common to her sex, such that in
her every action the good will find wherewith to
praise her and the wicked will not know in what
to blame her."
In a letter the holy Bishop expresses himself as
follows: " The Queen Bee of our new hive, because
she is so eager in the pursuit of virtue, is much
tormented with sickness, yet she finds no remedy to
her liking save in the observance of her Rule. I
have never seen such singleness of intention, such
submission to authority, such detachment from all
things, such acceptance of the will of God, such
JUDGMENT OF ST. FRANCIS
fervour in prayer as this good Mother shows. For
my part I believe that God will make her like unto
St. Paula, St. Angela, St. Catherine of Genoa, and
the other holy widows." Writing elsewhere to one
of his relations he says: " I feel unutterable conso
lation in seeing the moderation of our dear Mother
in regard to all the obstacles that come in her way
and her total indifference to the things of earth. In
all truth I may say that, proportionately to the
graces received, a soul could not arrive at higher
perfection. I regard her as an honour to her sex,
one who with the science of the Saints leads a most
holy, hidden life concealed by an ordinary exterior,
who does nothing out of the common and yet is
irreproachable in all things."
Once again, writing to a Bishop in answer to a
letter about Mother de Chantal, St. Francis says:
" I cannot speak but with respect of this most holy
soul which combines profound humility with a very
broad and very capable mind. She is simple and
sincere as a child, of a lofty and solid judgement.
A great soul with a courage for holy undertakings
beyond that of her sex. Indeed, I never read the
description of the valiant woman of Solomcn with
out thinking of Mother de Chantal. I write all this
to you in confidence, for this truly humble soul
would be greatly distressed if she knew that I had
said so much in her praise."
SELECTED LETTERS OF
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL
I.
To St. Francis de Sales.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1611.
How soon may I hope for the happy day when I
shall irrevocably offer myself to my God ? He has
so filled me with the thought of being entirely His,
and it has come home to me in such a wonderful and
powerful manner, that, were my emotion to last as
it now is, I could not live under its intensity. Never
have I had such a burning love and desire for the
evangelical life and for the great perfection to which
God calls me. What I feel about it is quite impos
sible to put into words. But, alas ! my resolve to
be very faithful to the greatness of the love of this
divine Saviour is balanced by the feeling of my in
capacity to correspond with it. Oh, how painful to
love is this barrier of powerlessness ! But why do I
speak thus ? By doing so I degrade, it seems to me,
the gift of God which urges me to live in perfect
poverty, in humble obedience, and in spotless
purity.
SELECTED LETTERS OF
II.
To the Same.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1612.
My Lord and my own Father, I pray God to fill
your soul with His choicest blessings, with Himself,
and above all with the most pure love of Jesus.
Now, for fear others may alarm you, I am telling you
myself that this morning I was taken very ill. After
dinner I had a shivering fit and collapsed completely
for a time, but now, thank God, I feel quite well
again; so do not let this trouble you, for the love
of God, that God Whom my soul loves, adores, and
desires to serve with the utmost singleness of heart
and with perfect purity. Obtain for me, my Father,
when to-morrow you hold this divine Saviour, His
grace in such abundance that I may for ever adore,
serve, and love Him perfectly. It is an immense
consolation to know that you are occupied with that
heavenly work " the Divine Love/'* With what
ardour I sigh for that love ! Alas ! my God, when
shall we see one another utterly consumed there
with ?
I have seen the good aunt : what a venerable old
lady she is ! I assure you I am well now, and you
know I would not say so if it were not true. May
Jesus reign and His Holy Mother. Amen.
* The Treatise on the Love of God.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 5
III.
To M. Legros at Dijon.
Vive >J< Jesus !
ANNECY,
SIR, 18^ June, 1612.
We have given your daughter a true welcome.
This offering which you and she have made so
lovingly cannot fail to be very agreeable to the
good God. You may be consoled and at peace
about her for she is, and will always be, very dear
to me. God obliges me to have an exceeding great
care and love for all those whom He leads here and
the goodness of your heart, together with her con
fidence in me, urges and binds me closely to her.
I have not leisure for more, but once again, let me
assure you that this dear little soul has found here
an affectionate Father and Mother, so you may be
happy about her. I am extremely obliged to you
for the trouble you have taken about that business
(illegible lines). . . . May God fill you with grace,
consolation, and strength to walk in the way of His
divine commandments ! I affectionately salute all
your children, for whom I wish a like grace. Madame
Legros and I have agreed to be as sisters to one
another. I greatly love and esteem her: she is a
brave, generous woman. God guide her to Himself.
Always, Sir, your very humble servant,
FREMYOT.
SELECTED LETTERS OF
IV.
The Duke of Savoy to St. Jane Frances
de Chantal.
VERY REVEREND DEARLY BELOVED AND DEVOUT
PETITIONER,
Your choice of my daughter, the Infanta
Duchess of Mantua, as your Mother and Protectress
gives us much pleasure. We are delighted that you
have erected your Congregation in our States, as we
profoundly esteem your piety, charity, and devotion,
and we desire by this letter to assure you that you
have our special protection, and that it is our wish
to aid, favour, and assist you in all that is necessary
for the carrying out of your good work. We have
written to this effect to our nephew the Marquis de
Lans and to our Senate of Savoy, to which you can
always have recourse. The Countess de Tournon
is charged to assist the Infanta at the solemnity
which you will be celebrating and to instruct her as
to her duties in regard to you. May I beg a remem
brance in your prayers and in those of your devout
flock, whom I pray God to have in His holy
keeping.
CHARLES EMMANUEL,
Duke of Savoy.
TURIN,
22nd of December, 1613.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL
V.
To Madame d'Auxerre* Foundress of the Monastery
of the Visitation at Lyons.
Vive >J< Jesus !
ANNECY, 1614.
Madame, My most dear and beloved Sister, The
grace of Our Lord be in your heart.
He has been pleased to grant you your request and
it is He alone who has inspired you with this desire.
Again, He alone has put into the hearts of this little
* This pious widow together with two other ladies made
a journey to Annecy in 1613 in order to place themselves
under the direction of St. Francis de Sales. On their return
to Lyons all three petitioned the Archbishop, Mgr. de
Marquemont, to establish a Monastery of the Visitation in
that town. Before, however, acceding to their request he
asked St. Francis the object of the new Order. The Saint
at once replied : " To give God souls of prayer who will be
so interior as to be found worthy to serve and adore His
infinite Majesty in spirit and in truth. To the great
Orders . already established in the Church we leave the
praiseworthy exercises and brilliant virtues by which they
honour Our Lord. But I wish that the Religious of my
Order should have no other ambition than to glorify Him
by their lowliness, so that this little Institute of the Visita
tion may be as a dovecot of innocent doves whose care and
employment will be to meditate on the law of the Lord
without making itself seen or heard in the world, remaining
hidden in the clefts of the Rock and the Hollow places of
the wall there to give to their Beloved, as long as life shall
last, proofs of sorrow and love by their lowly and humble
sighing."
8 SELECTED LETTERS OF
Community a feeling of general satisfaction in regard
to your undertaking, and for this intention we have
communicated and prayed much. As for me I tell
you, trustfully, in confidence, that when I was speak
ing to our Lord about this affair His divine goodness
seemed to make manifest to me that He Himself led
you here with His own hand. This consoled me
and made me resolve to give you what He commands,
and this my dearly loved Sister is my answer to .
what you ask. I give it simply and in all sincerity.
O how happy you are to have been thus called
by God to this most excellent service. Respond
courageously to such abundant graces and remain
very humble and faithful to His holy will.
I must say this one word more in answer to what
you feel as regards God's goodness in giving you as
guide this great and admirable servant of His.*
Know, my dearest Sister, that I also so strongly feel
this, that every day I make a special act of thanks
giving to God for it, and the longer we live the more
we shall understand what a grace it is. I remember,
in reference to it, a Capuchin once telling me that it
increased his regard for me to think of the peculiar
care and love that God must have for me to have
given me this grace Remain now full of
thanksgiving in peace and certainty, as much as
it is possible to have in this life, that you are
carrying out God's holy will.
* St. Francis de Sales,
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 9
We pray continually for you. All our Sisters
unite with me in saluting you most cordially. I,
indeed, look upon your heart, my beloved Sister, as
mine own, and because this is the very truth you
must look upon my heart as yours in His who is our
only Love.
Adieu. May we belong always wholly to God.
I remain with incomparable affection,
Yours, etc.
VI.
To St. Francis de Sales.
Vive ifr Jesus !
ANNECY, 1614.
I write because I cannot refrain from doing so ; for
this morning I am more wearisome to myself than
usual. My interior state is so gravely defective
that, in anguish of spirit, I see myself giving way on
every side. Assuredly, my good Father, I am almost
overwhelmed by this abyss of misery. The presence
of God, which was formerly such a delight to me,
now makes me tremble all over and shudder with
fear. I bethink myself that the divine eye of Him
whom I adore, with entire submission, pierces right
through my soul looking with indignation upon all
my thoughts, words and works. Death itself, it
seems to me, would be less painful to bear than the
distress of mind which this occasions, and I feel as
io SELECTED LETTERS OF
if all things had power to harm me. I am afraid of
everything; I live in dread, not because of harm to
myself, but because I fear to displease God. Oh,
how far away His help seems ! thinking of this I
spent last night in great bitterness and could utter
no other words than these, " My God, my God,
alas ! why hast Thou forsaken me." At daybreak
God gave me a little light in the highest part of my
soul, yet only there; but it was almost imperceptible;
nor did the rest of my soul and its faculties share the
enjoyment, which lasted only about the time of half
a Hail Mary, then, trouble rushed back upon me
with a mighty force, and all was darkness. Not
withstanding the weariness of this dereliction, I
said, though in utter dryness, " Do, Lord, whatever
is pleasing to Thee, I wish it. Annihilate me, I am
content. Overwhelm me, I most sincerely desire it.
Tear out, cut, burn, do just as Thou pleasest, I am
Thine." God has shown me that He does not make
much account of faith that comes of sentiment and
emotions. This is why, though against my inclina
tion, I never wish for sensible devotion. I do not
desire it. God is enough for me. Notwithstanding
my absolute misery I hope in Him, and I trust He
will continue to support me so that His will may be
accomplished in me. Take my feeble heart into
your hands, my true Father and Lord, and do what
you see to be wisest with it.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL n
VII.
To the Sisters of the Monastery of the Visitation of
Annecy.
Vive ^ Jesus !
LYONS,
i6th February, 1615.
Excuse me, I beg of you, my dearest and very good
Sisters, if I do not answer you each one separately,
which indeed the kindness you have shown me
deserves that I should do, and my affection for
you would desire: but neither head nor leisure
permit it, and besides, God be thanked for it, I see
no necessity to write to any one in particular.
Persevere in your good desires and every day become
more faithful to the observance of your holy Rules
and love them better. This alone, believe me,
should be your sole care. Cast not a look upon any
thing else and be assured that you will walk upon
the right road and will make a good and prosperous
voyage. May God in His infinite mercy be with you
and bless you so that you may perfectly accomplish
His holy will. With all my heart I desire this, for
I love you all, and each one individually, with the
greatest possible affection, far beyond what you
could imagine. This I tell you all, not forgetting
those who have not written to me. God bless you,
my very dear daughters. May He be your sole
12 SELECTED LETTERS OF
love and desire. Pray, I beseech you, for the needs
of your poor Mother, who is very affectionately
Your most humble and unworthy servant
in our Lord.
VIII.
To Sister Jeanne Charlotte de Brechard, Assistant
and Mistress of Novices at Annecy.
Vive ^ Jesus !
LYONS,
July gth, 1615.
MY DEAREST SISTER, MY DARLING,
See now how trouble is lifted off your shoulders
by the presence you enjoy of my very honoured
Lord ! * He is most anxious to work at our Rules,f
and is about to curtail them considerably at the
desire of the Archbishop of Lyons. I think he
intends to spend these months of July and August
at Annecy, for he tells me that during the great heat
he has more leisure, having fewer visitors. I shall
be very glad when he has finished the blessed book
so much desired and so long awaited. J Until I have
put it into the printer's hands for publication I am
not, I believe, to leave here for Annecy. So if you
are in such great need of me, help by your fidelity
and your prayers to secure time for this good and
* St. Francis de Sales.
t The Saint here calls the Constitutions by this name.
I The Treatise on the Love of God,
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 13
dear Lord to complete the work. The whole day,
as far as he is free, ought to be devoted to it, but
though it no longer requires much application, yet
it progresses very slowly: such is the will of the
great God, and may His will be accomplished here
and everywhere. For all that, you must keep up
your courage; we shall find September upon us
before we know where we are, and then God will
console us. You cannot think how I am looking
forward to my return— I am simply longing for it ;
but, my love, His Lordship does not agree with you
as to its present necessity; he considers I am more
useful here now, to satisfy certain persons. Mean
while, I am getting on with our little business, and
I trust, through the goodness of God and the brave
heart of my dearest Sister, that all will go tranquilly
till I return. Please God, I will do so at the
appointed time, when the business of the house will
be more pressing. Then I shall relieve my poor
little Sister of the burden as much as I am able, and
she will have nothing to do but to kindle in the hearts
of her dear novices the love of their Spouse, and to
caress her poor mother, who is so fond of her. Do
not forget the sweetmeats for the poor nor the dried
fruit, as much as you can procure of it. In the
month of September lay in a provision of butter and
cheese; Sister Anne Jacqueline (Coste) will help you
in this.' I am a little surprised that you tell me
there is only corn enough for the end of this month,
14 SELECTED LETTERS OF
for it ought to have lasted till the end of September.
Perhaps you have not paid for what was due, or you
may not have returned what was advanced to you
for the masons. Anyhow you must buy more as
soon as it is wanted; but for these two first months
purchase the old (jprn rather than the new. After
that, awaiting the season for laying in provisions, we
shall see as soon as possible if my son cannot return
part of what he has had from us, until he is able to
pay it all back.
See that Sister Marguerite (Milletot) writes to say
that we shall keep her pension here, and tell her to
ask out boldly for the ewer and the gown about
which so many promises have been made to her.
They need make no excuse about not being able to
send them for it is quite easy to get things from here
to Dijon. You must treat poor Sister Mary Made
leine (de Mouxy) very gently, and she will, I think, in
time, see for herself what is necessary. I am writing
in great haste, for this letter goes by the Bishop. It
is absolutely necessary to build the sacristies, com
plete the church, and enclose the little court, for you
know we must have more accommodation. Then
we'll stop. As to the continuation of the buildings,
we must wait and see what can be done when what
we are now doing is finished. If we buy the houses,
as his Lordship tells me, and have the Fathers'
garden, that will be a good bit of business done.
I salute affectionately my very dear and beloved
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 15
Sisters. May Jesus be all things to them, and they
all to Jesus. Amen.
My kind remembrances also to my son M. Michel
(Favre),* to all our friends, and to the workmen.
I send two combs for my daughters to tease the red
wool, and two ells of material to cover the bodice
of a dress for little Fran£oise, and two of stuff, which
is very ugly but most expensive, for the bodice of a
petticoat, for sleeves and neck kerchiefs, to last her
over the summer. Please God, for the future I'll choose
her clothing myself, and not trust it to anyone else.
Goodbye, and a happy Vespers, f my dear good
Sister. It is nearly noon and we are only just out
from table; for the Archbishop of Lyons, as usual,
came about 10 o'clock, f and then came Madame
Saint diamond. Give me your best prayers, for I
am most truly miserable. Nevertheless, may the
great God accomplish His holy will in us ! Amen.
IX.
To Sister Peronne Marie de Chdtel at Lyons.
Vive ^ Jesus !
MY DEARLY BELOVED SlSTER, ANNECY> ^15.
Your letters delight me, they are altogether
after my own heart, that heart that so loves its dear
Pe"ronne. It is true, my child, that in this life we
* The Convent Chaplain at Annecy.
t The Octave Day of the Feast of the Visitation.
$ The Sisters' dinner hour.
16 SELECTED LETTERS OF
must always be beginning anew, but if it were not so
where should we be ? For this is essential to our
humility and to confidence, the two virtues our good
God asks of us. Be brave, train yourself to courage
and to exactitude in the observance. Keep a light
heart, and above all things put sadness far from you.
God is wholly ours, and we, my daughter, have no
other wish than to be wholly His. How then can
we be solicitous about anything whatsoever ? When
you have time give me news of that heart that is so
dear to me and that I know so well, I say, so well,
thanks be to God.
I am quite easy as to dearest Sister Marie Jacque
line, for I never doubted but that she would be a
success, yet to hear your assurance of it is very
consoling. Give her all the help you can so as to
lighten as much as possible the burden of her charge.
Look after her health; I entrust it to you, and on
this point she is to go by what you say.
I beseech you, my love, be a good example to
others, avoid all useless conversation, never absent
yourself from the community assemblies without
real necessity. Give challenges to spur each other
on to virtue. Let your chief care be to inculcate
recollection, practise it yourself in good earnest, it
ought to be preeminently our practice. Incite one
another to it, and to seek Our Lord, and our own
perfection in singleness of heart.
I have received all your letters and the other
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 17
things you sent by Chamb6ry, but they came very
late. Another time, my dearest daughter, to give
you comfort we'll talk as you desire, heart to heart,
but I am feeling the cold to-day, and am pressed for
time. In a word, humility, exact observance, holy
confidence and joy in God.
Our very dear Father is, he says, entirely yours.
All our Sisters salute you. To conclude, you are, as
I told you the other day, my own dear Peronne,
whom I love with all my heart. When M. Michel
goes to see you he will give you plenty of news ; he
is not, however, going for some little time yet.
Yours wholly in Jesus.
X.
To Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre, Superior
at Lyons.
Vive 4- J£sus !
ANNECY, 1615.
They have taken me by surprise. Here is M. de
Boisy, who tells me that if I wish to write to you, my
daughter, now is the opportunity. He starts at
dawn, and so at dawn I write this letter in all haste.
Well, as to your letters, they always give me
pleasure and console me exceedingly. All praise to
the good God who I see leads you and holds you by
His paternal Hand, so that you have nothing to do
but to cling close to it, and leave yourself to Him,
walking with all possible humility, and simplicity,
i8 SELECTED LETTERS OF
under His holy protection, while you train your
little flock to advance faithfully, for it is in this way
that He wishes you to show your fidelity, and it is
for this end that I always tell you, my dearest, that
you should keep yourself, as much as the perfor
mance of necessary duties allow, free and disengaged
from occupations, so that you may be continually in
the midst of your Sisters at the times that they are
assembled together, thus will you enlighten and
animate them in their duty by example as well as by
precept . I quite agree with our worthy and excellent
Archbishop. He is right, my daughter, believe me,
you must be Mother and Mistress. Nevertheless, it
is well to try the capacity of Sister Marie Aimee,*
for she is good, though a little too reserved and
somewhat lazy, letting nature dictate, and yet I
hope that she will, notwithstanding, further the
progress of these dear children by good example
and by her tongue if she lets it loose. Moreover, as
you will often be unable to be with them yourself,
she can take your place, and thus be a constant
relief to you. Your resolve about Madame Raime
is quite to my mind. Deduct the amount of the
damask plums from what you receive and you can
ask M. de Mediof and M. Voullart as to how to act.
Be at ease about the dearly loved Peronne Marie.
* Sister Marie Aimee de Blonay had just been made
Mistress of Novices, a charge which she greatly dreaded.
f Canon of Lyons.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 19
I never thought of what they told you, but do not
on that account delay to train these girls to house
work, for most certainly charity obliges you to give
the good daughter a rest after she has put the house
in good order, and others have been trained for this
purpose. Alas ! my dearest daughter, I have great
compassion for poor Sister . Undoubtedly, her
imagination plays a large part in her case, but our
good Archbishop and the confessor ought to help
in the curing of her. Treat as despicable and in no
manner condone what she esteems so much in herself.
I will write to her as to the others when I have leisure.
You must take great care of the good Sister .
Keep her bright, and as much occupied as possible,
see that she eats and sleeps well, for usually any
weakness of the brain lends itself to such tempta
tions of the imagination, so, dear daughter, show her
infinite compassion, charity, and patience. God
and time will reveal to us what it is all about.
Daylight is breaking, and I have nothing very
special to say except, indeed, that you ought to be
very grateful for the blessing God has conferred upon
you in giving you as fathers two such exceptionally
great and worthy prelates, whose remarkable piety
pleases God and man.* I cannot tell you what a
consolation it is to me to see how God has united
these two souls, and I believe this union will bring
Him more glory than our little judgements are
* St. Francis de Sales and Mgr. de Marquemont.
20 SELECTED LETTERS OF
capable of understanding. So with all my heart I
praise God for having given me this consolation
which I have so long prayed for and desired, clearly
seeing how much good it would effect, and the solace
of mind it would bring to our worthy Lord Arch
bishop, whose goodness merits and needs it. His
dear Lordship here is full of kindness, -and in perfect
accord with this prelate, and has a great reverence
for him. I will write as soon as possible to these
dear children ; meanwhile, give them my affectionate
love. May the great Jesus fill their hearts with
sweetness, simplicity, and innocence ! My respect
ful and affectionate remembrance to my Lord
Archbishop. My regards also to good Father Philip
de Saint-Nizier, the chaplain, and whoever else you
think I ought to mention. Do not tell the President*
that you do not get letters from me for I never fail
to write when there is an opportunity. Remember
me very specially to your two dear companions, my
daughters, and most dear Sisters.
Good-morning, my love. May Jesus be your all.
Amen.
XI.
To the Same
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1615.
.... I think you have received both the letters
that I have written to you since our arrival. Now
* Antoine Favre, Mother Marie Jacqueline's father.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 21
to answer yours, which has been a joy beyond words
to me : so is it in your power, my dearest Sister and
friend, to give me true pleasure. You are indeed
happy in serving our Lord and His holy Mother:
give your service, my beloved friend, with boundless
joy and courage. Our very good Father, whom as
yet I have hardly seen, wrote you the other day an
excellent and beautiful letter.* Ah ! how blessed
are they who hide themselves in the sacred breast of
the Saviour, and elsewhere find no delight. But I
really must answer your letter. I am writing during
the Sisters' supper, and I have had no time as yet to
converse with any of them. Keep firm to the line
you have adopted with M. de Saint-Nizier, that is
all I have to say on that point. I must answer
Pere Theodose, but it is you who ought to do this.
Yes, I told Sister - - that you would give her a
little book on perfection, but she must not let her
* In this letter, having consoled her for the departure of
Sister J. F. de Chantal, Saint Francis addresses these sweet
words to her: " We need never part from one another, we
whom the very blood of Our Lord — that is to say, His love,
through the merits of His blood — binds and unites together.
Indeed, as for me, I am in very truth so entirely yours that
in proportion to the distance that these two or three days
of journeying seem to separate us corporally the more
strongly and with the more affection am I united spiritually
to you as to my very dear daughter. You will be the first
after our Mother (de Chantal) in my prayers and my solici
tude, a solicitude, however, which is more sweet through
the extreme confidence which I have in the heavenly care
of divine Providence for your soul." — (M. S. Lives of the
First Mothers, by Mere de Chaugy.)
22 SELECTED LETTERS OF
imagination run away with her, so as to think she
possesses all the good qualities she desires and which
she hears discussed. Keep her gently and cordially
humble, and believe me, my love, she will, please
God, do very well.
There are countless things, my dearest Sister, that
I long to say about the true and sincere affection I
have for you, and this because I verily believe that
we are not separated, but more united than ever, for
our mutual intercourse by letter brings home to us,
it seems to me, all the more forcibly our affection.
O God ! may this love be eternal : our life here is
too short to suffice for the enjoyment of so great a
good ! But to answer your little questions. God
be praised for the zeal of our good Sisters in holy
obedience. Oh ! but it is sweet and pleasant news
to me, and for them an inestimable treasure. I
beseech these dearest daughters, whom I truly love,
to give all the consolation possible by following after
perfection holily and faithfully. Oh, my God, we
have only, my dearest one, my Sister, to die or to
love our good Saviour. Amen.
His Lordship has, through the chaplain, acceded
to the desire of Madame Colin. You have answered
N. right well; no thanks are needed in such matters.
If I can I will write to M. ; if not, do it yourself, my
love, for these are our affairs. Believe me, I pray
much, and will continue to do so for you, and still
more for your dear Father and Mother. . . .
St. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 23
XII.
To the Same.
Vive *%4 Jesus !
ANNECY, 1615.
MY DEAREST SISTER, MY DARLING,
First of all it is quite true that I am entirely
at your service. Next, it is from no lack of diligence
on my part that you have been kept so long without
news of us, for we have frequently sent to the trades
people to find out if any were going to Lyons.
You must not, then, think that I am wanting in care
or affection for you. I do not know how that
traveller you speak of passed through without my
knowing. Now to answer your letters, though I
assure you I have to do so in the greatest haste.
We have sent you our Office books, and the carrier
has delivered everything from you — the beautiful
candlesticks and the crucifixes, for which, above all,
we thank you. God will give you all that is neces
sary to instruct these girls from Riom. It is well that
you have them, for it is essential that they come
either here or to Lyons, otherwise it would be impos
sible for us for a good long while to provide sub
jects suitable for foundations. Truly the making of
Superiors is not the matter of a day.
The First President of Toulouse has written to
his Lordship asking for Sisters for a foundation, and
he has replied that he will see to subjects being
24 SELECTED LETTERS OF
formed for it. This community is becoming very
large, and needs assiduous care. Mademoiselle du
Chatelard and Mademoiselle d'Avise were here last
week, and asked with great humility and earnestness
that the votes might be taken for their admittance
as probationers. This has been done, and they are
coming at the beginning of the approaching great
feasts. Both souls are altogether to my liking.
Several others are applying for admission. . . .
We must charitably bear with N., and employ
both the green wood and the dry to keep her brothers
and sisters away from her, and to induce her
to curtail her correspondence. She is in bondage
to these things, and never will she have courage to
break her chains if she is not helped. May God in
His mercy take her by His good hand and lead her
out of all superfluous cares. His grace the Arch
bishop has acted prudently in at once settling that
her sister is not to be received, to do otherwise would
have been inexpedient. She ought not to put upon
us these great obligations to Madame la president e
Le Blanc* who is one of those women of the world
whom I greatly admire. A thousand cordial saluta
tions to her.
My darling, for the love of God always write quite
openly to me about all your little affairs, and don't
take the trouble to copy your letters. I say this not
only for myself but also on the part of our good
* See note to Letter XIX., page 49.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CtfANTAL 25
Lord, and it will suffice to write only to one or other
of us, for we are as one by the grace of God, and .1
see that so much writing gives you headaches.
This too will economize your time. You will easily
be excused by everybody, except perhaps by the
dear brother de Boisy*, for the rest they must write
to you and not expect answers unless you have time
and want to recreate yourself. I am undecided
whether or no to write to M. Austrain, but in any
case be sure to offer him my respects. His little
daughterf is indeed very happy. Three of us have
the special care of her. She is very charming, but
M. and Mme. Austrain ought to inculcate obedience,
and tell her that they always hold it in reverence.
I am very fond of her and so are all our Sisters.
Assure them of this, and that I greatly desire to
serve them and to give them satisfaction in regard
to her. In reference to this over affection that you
have for me, you are doing quite right. Alas !
dearest daughter, I am not exempt from these
feelings. In such things be very generous in the
guard you keep over yourself; hardly ever speak of
it, still less think of it : feelings of this kind should be
* The Count de Boisy was brother of St. Francis de
Sales.
t The Monastery of Lyons was under obligations to M.
Austrain, and St. Jane Frances took his little daughter back
with her to Annecy at his desire. Subsequent letters show
that this child did ^ot respond to the Saint's kindness and
had to be sent away.
26 SELECTED LETTERS OF
borne with silently and sweetly, taking, as it were,
no notice of them.
How consoled I should be if M. D. is caught in the
net. May the good God do this mercy. I want you
to get news of the temporal affairs of our late good
Sister Marie Renee (Trunel) from the General of the
Feuillants, and to ask his opinion; the first paper
which Sister Peronne Marie (de Chatel) sent was a
rough draft ; you will have received what we wrote
to you by M. Voullart. For God's sake, darling, do
all you can soon to procure the money that should
come to us for Sister F. A., as we are in great neces
sity, and nobody wants to pay us. M. Voullart has
the authority for receiving it (illegible lines). . . .
Adieu, my love, I am all right as to health, but I
want to improve otherwise when I have time to
think about it. I intend to take full advantage of
my co-adjutrice. I don't know which to choose
unless Sister N. Sister P. M. [de Chatel] would make
an excellent one. Some day please God I hope to
have her, meantime I advise you to make use of her
for yourself.
Adieu, once more. Let us be His for ever and
ever.*
* The Lives of Mother Favre, de Brechard and de Chatel
are given in the " Lives of the First Mothers of the Visita
tion," by Mother de Chaugy. There is a recent life of
Mother de Chatel under the title of " Peronne Marie " (Burns
and Gates), in which are introduced slight character-sketches
of Mothers Favre, de Brechard, de Blonay and de Sautereau.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 27
XIII.
To Sister Ptronne Marie de Chdtel at Lyons.
Vive >%4 Tesus !
ANNECY,
January, 1616.
At last, my dearest daughter, I take up your letter
to answer it as far as I am able. May the good God
inspire me to say what is for His glory and your
consolation. All the repugnances of which you
speak, all your feelings, aversions, difficulties, are all
to my judgement for your greater good, and you
are bound not to yield to them. You should keep
making resolutions every day to fight and resist
them — nevertheless when you fall, say fifty times a
day, never on any account be astonished or uneasy,
but quite gently reproach yourself, arid take up
again the practice of the contrary virtue, saying all
the time words of love and confidence to Our Lord,
and saying them just as much after you have fallen
into a thousand faults as if you had only fallen into
one. Do not forget all we have said to you on this
subject, and practise it for the love of God, being
assured that God will draw His glory and your perfec
tion out of this infirmity, never have a doubt on this
point, and bear up bravely and sweetly whatever
happens. If sometimes you feel weak, cowardly,
with no confidence in God, compel your lips to utter
words the very opposite to your feelings, and say
28 SELECTED LETTERS OF
them firmly. My Saviour, my all, notwithstanding
my miseries, and my distrust, I trust Thee out and
out, for Thou art the strength of the weak, the
refuge of the miserable, the wealth of the poor, in a
word Thou art my Saviour, who hast ever loved the
sinner. Now these and like words, my dearest
daughter, you can say, and though with neither
devotion nor tears, yet with set purpose. Then pass
on to divert your mind in some way, for the Al
mighty will not let you escape from His hand, which
has so securely captured you, and do you not see
how His sweet goodness comes to your succour in so
striking and profitable a manner ?
I beg of you preserve the remembrance of the
instructions you have received in the past, and
put them into practice, whenever occasion offers.
When you feel the need of writing to me, write. I
will always answer you promptly, and with the
truthfulness of a heart that is wholly yours. Be
very careful to give good example. Fidelity and
exactness in observance is, as you know, necessary
for this, and also a well-ordered exterior, the basis of
which depends on the practice of the presence of
God. As far as you can quietly manage it release
yourself from household duties. I have already
spoken to Sister * about this, and you will, I think,
find her of my opinion, for otherwise those for
whom the charges are intended cannot be fittingly
* Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 29
trained. Certainly, my love, I am altogether
satisfied and consoled with your dear little Mother,
who is with you; every one tells me how well she
gets on and what you yourself continue to write
about her gives me increasing pleasure, for I know
with what sincerity you speak. I trust in God that
she will be one day a great and worthy servant of
His and that she will do good to many. She ought
to steep herself ever more in humility and grow in
resignation : help her according to your little lights,
and tell her simply in all truth, what seems to you
for her own good and for that of the house. God
knowrs how sincerely I love her ; I know her heart and
how she feels under obligation to you, while you are
conscious that the obligation is on your side. I am
well aware of the help and profit that I receive from
my coadjutrix; such is an inestimable blessing for
superiors, who from the multiplicity of affairs cannot
give sufficient attention to minor things which it is
expedient should be remedied. Let me once more
beg of you, my dear little Peronne, to further in
every way you can my desire that our dear Sister's
spirits are kept up, and without teasing her have an
eye to her health ; tell her frankly what is necessary,
and see that she does it, for she ought to yield to you
in this, just as you should obey her quite simply
when she orders what she considers necessary for
your health. You can humbly represent to her how
much you feel able to do, but in such a way that she
30 SELECTED LETTERS OF
may have no reason to distrust or be displeased with
you. It is better to exceed in charity than in labour,
and for God's sake never give way to disquietude : do
everything you can to get well, for it is only your
nerves. I must conclude, for I am feeling somewhat
indisposed. A hundred thousand loves to all our
dearest sisters ; indeed with all my heart I love your
little flock. May their thoughts be ever set on their
Spouse, and may they hold intercourse with Him
like pure, sweet, simple, chaste doves. I embrace
them all, big and little, lovingly and tenderly, in
spirit, but above all do I embrace my well-loved
Pe"ronne. His Lordship salutes you and loves you
tenderly. Vive J6sus.
XIV.
To Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre, Superior at
Lyons.
Vive >J< Jesus !
ANNECY,
January ^th, 1616.
Only one word, my poor dear daughter, for there
is no time to write as much as I should wish.
Hardly has one been told that there is an opportunity
of sending a letter than they come to fetch it. For
the love of God, my dear friend, do not allow your
self to be so easily carried away by your affections.
Hold fast in God your spirit, your love, and all your
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 31
pleasure. Keep your heart strong and generous,
and interior joy will come back to you. We are not
separated, my dearest daughter, be assured of this,
and when it is necessary to think and speak of me
accustom yourself to do so with a free and joyous
spirit as if I were present to you. Ah ! my love, to
know that our good God is everywhere, and that He
is always ready to be to us, Father, Mother, sweet
and gentle Spouse, should indeed make us happy.
I am very glad that you have taken Mme. de
Chevrieres for a mother ; * she is a virtuous and useful
friend and I greatly like her: offer her my humble
respects. Our poor dear Sisters' Christmas carols
are very nice. I love all these dear hearts : tell them
so, darling, I beg of you. . . .
In your next letter say how you are really feeling,
for I cannot say that I like to hear of your getting
thin. My daughter de Thorens has written to me
(illegible lines), speaks of the marriage of M. de
Foras with Fran^oise. Madame is wrong, I assure
you, my dear friend, in blaming his Lordshipt for
not writing to her. I see very little of him, and I
cannot tell you how long it is since I last spoke with
him: he is overwhelmed with business. However,
* It was a common custom at this epoch to contract
spiritual alliances as a mark of reverence, gratitude, and
affection. It is of such an alliance that Saint Jane Frances
here approves. Madame de Chevrieres -was a pious ajid
devoted friend of the monastery at Lyons .
t St. Francis de Sales.
32 SELECTED LETTERS OF
if I see him I will ask him to write to her, and I shall
do so myself, if possible.
Well, most certainly I pity the good Archbishop
of Lyons with his rules: the poor man is worrying
himself to death over them. Why on earth does he
not fish where he knows there is plenty of water.
Do not send the regulations that he has made for us
without also sending the rules, and get to know as
tactfully as you can what he is planning and the
cause of this delay.
As to exterior mortifications, they are performed
here in the right spirit and with devotion. You
know them : Some prostrate across the doorway with
face to the ground, others hold out their arms in the
form of a cross, others again wear a cord round
their neck, and ask pardon, or mention and deplore
their imperfections out loud, ask for an alms and the
like. However, I permit them but rarely, because
frequency lessens their power, and when done with
devotion they profit and mortify those who perform
them, and edify the others. You can of course allow
them, but only at the times set down, unless the
Sisters ask your permission, and let this come from
themselves (illegible lines).
They have come to fetch the letters. Good-day,
dearest daughter. Always yours. Be humble in all
things, and practice mortification of spirit. Vive
J6sus.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 33
XV.
To Sisters Peronne Marie de Chdtel and Marie Aimet
de Blonay.
Vive ^ J6sus !
ANNECY, 1616.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTERS,
I will begin by answering your last letter, and
then go back as far as I am able to the preceding
one, saying, please God, what He wishes me to say
to you.
First, then, my dear daughter, I'll tell you what
Our Lord wants of you and of us all, a humble
and tranquil submission to His most holy will in
whatsoever happens, for everything is, without
question, ordained by divine Providence for His
glory, and for our gain; henceforth to be indifferent
to health or sickness, consolation or desolation, the
enjoyment or privation of what we most cherish,
should be our aim. May our hearts have but one
desire, that His holy will be accomplished in us and
in regard to us. Let us not philosophize on things
that happen to ourselves or to others, but, as I have
already said, remaining sweetly humble, and tranquil,
in the condition in which God has placed us. In
pain patient, in sorrow enduring, in action active,
without stopping to think whether we commit faults
in this way or that, for such reflections are nothing
but self-love.
3
34 SELECTED LETTERS OF
Instead of all that, look at God, and take faithfully
as it presents itself every opportunity of practising
suitable virtues. When you fail through cowardice
or infidelity be not disturbed, make no reflections,
humble yourself in meekness and confusion before
God, and then lose no time in rising up again by an
act of courage and holy confidence.
Now, my daughter (P£ronne Marie), and my little
one (Marie Aime*e), do thus; this letter is for you
both in common, for I know that your hearts hide
nothing from one another. In future, as I have so
little leisure, I will always write to you together,
unless you tell me that, for some particular reason,
you wish me to answer you individually, in which
case I will willingly do so, for I am at your disposal.
Believe me, I love you with all my heart, and I have
to bear my fair share in the mortification of your
absence, though indeed you are more than ever
present to me in spirit; but the good God has
arranged it so, and all is sweet in His holy
will.
You, my P£ronne, and the little Sister, when
you happen to be ill, receive relief willingly and
graciously. And mind, in whatever form it comes,
whether it be to rise, to go to bed, to eat, obey simply,
and without making difficulties. My dear P&ronne,
walk manfully in your old way, both as to the
interior, and the exterior. When you are asked what
point of prayer you take, and the like, answer boldly
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 35
as to what you have done or thought formerly in
this way: " I have had such thoughts in prayer or
done such things while walking about, or when in
bed " ; but do not say : "To-day, or at such an hour,
I have done such a thing." It is not necessary to be
so explicit, but simply say, " I have done or seen
such a thing," and have no scruple in calling all your
good aspirations and thoughts prayer, for they are
prayer, and so, for the matter of that, are all our
actions when done to please God. It is enough to
salute your good Angel morning and evening.
Attention to the presence of God and of Our Lady
includes all, for the blessed Spirits are engulphed in
the abyss of the Divinity, and it is more perfect to
walk simply. When a novice says to you, " What
are you thinking of ?" answer frankly, " I am think
ing of God," without saying (if it is not so), I was
thinking of the Passion, and the like, for no doubt
to mention a particular subject (if we were not
thinking of it) would be an untruth. Say simply,
" I was thinking of Our Lord," and you might, for
example, add, " My God, how happy we should be
if we could always have the Holy Passion or the
Nativity before our eyes." This gives edification
enough. I see nothing else to say.
Oh ! but yes; just a word for my Little One. I beg
of you, my dearest Sister, not to trouble about what
you feel or do not feel — this I say once for all. Serve
Our Lord as it pleases Him, and while He keeps you
36 SELECTED LETTERS OF
in the desert serve Him there with good courage.
He made His dear Israelites spend forty years there,
accomplishing a journey that they could have made
in forty days. Take courage then, and be satisfied
with saying, and being able to say, though without
relish, " I wish to live wholly for God and never to
offend Him;" and when you stumble, as is sure to
happen (be it a hundred times a day), rise up again
by an act of confidence. Do likewise towards your
neighbour, be content with having the desire to love
him, or desiring to desire it, and to procure for him
all possible good, and, opportunity given, minister
gently to him.
In short take bravely the road in which God leads
you — it is a safe one, although you may not have all
the light and satisfaction you would like; but it is
quite time to abandon to Our Lord all these plans
and desires, and to walk blindly, as divine Providence
wills, believing that it will lead you aright. Now,
adieu. Our good M. Michel (Favre) will tell you all
the news. Needless to say, I recommend him to
you, for I am extremely fond of him. He is our
dear brother and child: entirely devoted to us.
Thousands of cordial messages to those most dear
daughters of my heart, and special messages to whom
you know, and to all, for indeed I most truly love
them all.
Adieu, my beloved daughters.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 37
XVI.
To Mother M. J. Favre.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1616.
MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,
Your letter deeply touches me. May God
give us genuine humility, sweetness, and submission,
for with these virtues there is truth, but without
them usually deception and no sure dependence.
No need to consult about this good woman, she must
be put out, for a thousand reasons. Unless God
give you light to the contrary, beware of acting on
any human reasons put forward by her relations.
You must drink the chalice, my daughter, and bear
with contempt for the sake of exact observance.
But act, I pray you, in this matter with gentleness
and consideration, saying nothing that might cause
any trouble to this poor woman.*
* Elsewhere St. Jane Frances thus sums up for her
daughters the views expressed to her on religious life by
their Founder, St. Francis de Sales. " In truth, there are
few monasteries which do not possess some one who gives
a great example of virtue, but the majority are weak and
neither great nor elevated in character. This evil is
brought about by persons becoming religious who are not
yet really good Christians. Such know indeed their Founder
and their constitutions, but they have little knowledge of
Jesus Christ and His gospels. They aspire to become
perfect in a day, while yet they are unaware of their own
miseries and need of justification. They expect to be
cured without thoroughly knowing their disease or the
38 SELECTED LETTERS OF
As to Mdlle. N., we only have knowledge of her
in so far as to be able to say that we fear her becoming
very dejected from her melancholy and unstable
temperament. However, you will have to receive
physician. They begin with the roof instead of with the
foundations, and are eager to offer to the divine Master
what He has only recommended as a counsel, without taking
the trouble to give Him what He exacts as a debt. From
hence come so many dissensions, murmurings, and com
plaints about trivial things, so much imprudence, so many
indiscretions, suspicions, rash judgements, attachments to
one's own inclinations and way of thinking, and to trifles;
such impatience of contempt, so little fervour in prayer,
so little reverence for the holy mysteries, so little fruit from
confession and frequent communion, such a poor conception
and idea of the life to come, so little gratitude to Jesus
Christ, so little solidity and dignity in the practices of
devotion. The remedy for all these evils is to employ the
time of noviceship in learning truly to know the adorable
Master; His precepts, maxims and counsels, by a thorough
explanation of His gospel; truly to understand the nobility
of man, whom God only can render happy; his fall and his
misery, which the Incarnation and the death of a God could
alone remedy: the corruption of his heart, of which self-
love is master; the inability in himself to do any good
without the grace of Jesus Christ: the never-ending danger
from that concupiscence which, though conquered, is
always within him; the necessity of continual prayer, of
solitude, of penance, in order to keep the senses subject
to the spirit ; truly to understand how terrible God is in His
judgements, how heinous are the sins committed after
baptism, how differently we shall look upon things after
death, and what a heavy responsibility for us will be the life
and death of the Redeemer: truly to learn the folly of
despising these truths and the sanctity which the grace of
the law of this Jesus exacts from us, He who is our Saviour
and our Model,"
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 39
her for a first trial and to tell her frankly that she
will be obliged to undergo at least four months'
probation in the house before she receives the habit.
As to the condition she wishes to lay down of being
always with you after her profession, it is not to be
heard of. She must not claim to make arrangements
on becoming a Religious, as if she was purchasing a
farm-house; therefore, should there be no conditions
in her contract, and no reserves, the only thing she
can reserve to herself is the resolution never to do her
own will, and to live peaceably and humbly in the
Congregation. I beg of you, my true daughter,
maintain a gentle and a humble, a generous and a
joyous heart in the midst of the bustle of affairs, for
this God requires of you.
You are right in thinking our Sisters de Chatel
and de Blonay are two pearls of virtue. They have
not a little obliged me in so candidly opening their
hearts to you. I never doubted but that they would
do so, and I am sure you will always receive conso
lation and support from them. Gently encourage
the dear Cadette* to be more expansive and open-
hearted with the sisters. She can do it if she look
humbly unto God and overcome herself. I beg of
her to teach her novices to see the advantage of
correction, and to love it. They ought to aspire to
great purity of life and become familiar in their
* A name given by St. Francis to Mother Marie Aimee
de Blonay.
40 SELECTED LETTERS OF
communications with their divine Spouse. I shall
not write to them now; it suffices that we two,
whom God has so intimately united, confer with one
another. God bless you, my child, I am very glad
to know the state of your heart. Keep it one with
God in fidelity to the Rule and a stranger to all un
profitable things; for, my true daughter, God has
appointed you for my succour and to carry with me
the burden which He Himself has laid upon me. Do
not say that you are inconsolable on account of our
separation. I assure you that I write much more
to you than I tell our sisters here. We do not
see one another it is true, but that is all, and I think
a little corporal absence renders you more present
to the mind than if you were present. In every
thing else we never make any difference between you
and our Sisters here, if it be not that you are more
loved and more carefully instructed. Now pity
yourself no more, since Jesus Christ is the privileged
bond that unites us.
Yours, etc.
XVII.
To Madame de Gouffier.
Vive ^ J6sus !
ANNECY.
ijth July, 1616.
I can only send you this little note, my dearest
daughter, but his Lordship is answering your letters.
Our Sisters (Favre and de Chatel) are to arrive this
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 41
evening, so you can imagine how busy we are getting
ready for them. God be blessed for all you tell me,
and may the work you have undertaken be to you a
precious crown for the greater honour of God and
for our consolation.
Certainly, very dear daughter, if the glory of God
and your reputation were not so much involved in
this transaction we should never risk sending our
sisters. Our reasons would be unalterable in regard
to anyone save you yourself. Sister Jeanne Char
lotte will tell you what they are. The experience of
Lyons has taught us to walk circumspectly. But
we have not the heart to disappoint this daughter
who is so much one of ourselves. May God be your
portion and ours for all eternity ! It is impossible
for me to leave this house at present, so I cannot
accompany the Sisters whom we are sending to
Lyons. They will arrive, please God, on the 2Qth
of this month, and they can start with you on the
5th or 6th of August, but not before. We shall write
again by them. May God love us, and our love be
all for Jesus eternally.
Adieu, my daughter. I embrace you with all my
soul which is wholly yours. But let us not engage
in any more combats until we are fully armed ! I
prefer to have few monasteries and those well
established than many badly provided.*
* Madame de Gouffter, a religious of the Order of the
Holy Ghost, was attracted to greater devotion by reading
42 SELECTED LETTERS OF
XVIII.
To Mother Jacqueline Fame, Superior at Lyons.
Vive >$< Jesus !
ANNECY.
June, 1616.
MY OWN DEAREST DAUGHTER,
You and all the dear Sisters to whom I am
in debt must needs be perpetually pardoning me.
Only at the last moment are we told of an opportu
nity to send letters, and having no time to get mine
ready beforehand I am constrained to write in a
breathless fashion. They have just come to say
the " Introduction to a Devout Life," and made a long
journey to confer with its author, St. Francis de Sales.
The Sister annalist of the Order tells us that Madame de
Goumer, on arriving, ' ' Devoutly f erretted out all she could
about the rising Congregation to see if it might not be the
promised land designed by God for her, in which she hoped
to find rivers flowing with milk and honey. Full of
admiration for the new Institute, Madame de Goumer wished
to become a member, but insurmountable impediments
opposed her design, and she could only obtain permission
to wear the religious habit within the enclosure, where she
was known under the name of Sister Marie Elizabeth.
With tireless energy the new benefactress gave a helping
hand to the foundations of Lyons, Moulins, and Paris, in all
of which houses she successively sojourned, ever seeking to
make herself useful to the Sisters, whose virtue was indispu
tably made manifest by the thorns without number with
which, all unwittingly, she strewed their paths. Towards
the end of 1621 Madame de Goumer quitted her exile here
below for the true Promised Land."
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 43
that Sire Pierre sets out to-morrow. Patience in all
things ! However, as I want to write to our sisters,
and very fully to you, and very particularly to my
son M. Michel, those letters I will send by the chap
lain. You now know for certain what are our good
Lord's intentions regarding the Religious question:
I mean the conversion of our Congregation into a
Religious Order, with the conditions laid down for
us, which are all excellent, and about which our
resolution is unalterable. This step has been before
the Archbishop of Lyons for a long time, and he did
not wish it to be known. But what does it matter
to us, I pray you, whether our vows are solemn, or
made as they are in public, or whether we are to be
called a Religious Order or a Congregation P Such
things do not signify at all. We have always shown
that we are willing for it on- condition that nothing
whatever is changed as to the end of our Institute
or the means of attaining that end, to which, thanks
be to God, we have, up to this, adhered for His glory
and the salvation of our neighbour. We do not ask
or seek to be brought forward, and only wish to be
left as we are, content to remain in our littleness,
and infinitely preferring it if the glory of God does
not demand otherwise.
Now, dearest daughter, your mind will be clear
on this subject, and you can satisfy those who make
inquiries. I greatly desire that our good Father
Rector, a man of great virtue and capability, should
44 SELECTED LETTERS OF
know all, and give his opinion on the whole matter
to the Bishop, who is anxious to have it. His last
letter to me gives the impression that he thinks quite
the reverse of the above. For the rest, dearest
daughter, if you have an opportunity get the Arch
bishop to write and tell his Lordship how he means
to act in regard to the Bishop's last letter, for this is
of importance to the affair in Rome; but do not let
him see any eagerness on your part or that you have
been asked to do this. Enough on this subject.
What a grace has not the good God done us these
six years in having called us to true perfection by a
manner of life so fitting to our sex. Ever blessed
be this divine Saviour. I tried to-day to renew my
heart fervently so as henceforth to live in accordance
with God's holy will. My great longing for you,
who are so dear to me, is that you may bravely cast
aside all that is not of God, and having but one
heart, that you may keep it exclusively for the one
Saviour, who has given His dear life to win our
love and our salvation. . . .
Let us have a great love for our Sisters and bear
gently and sweetly with their little miseries and
weaknesses, without which we shall never be, and
thus make good use of the first-fruits of the spirit
which God has diffused on us here, and on you.
What joy took possession of my heart yesterday,
dearest daughter, when I caught a glimpse of a
chance of seeing you again, and what noise and
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 45
excitement at recreation when I gave the news of
your coming ! Truly it is delightful to see how they
all love you. Don't you think that it is quite
necessary for me to keep my pleasure to myself in
case you do not come, for they would all be so
disappointed ? Alas ! my poor Pe*ronne, if she is not
cured she must come back to Annecy, for she will be
useless to you and the change of air may be good for
her. God knows how welcome she will be, but I
fear you will miss her for your little manage: how
ever, God will provide.
I hope you will not give the habit to the good
N. until she has completed her six months. If I
have time I will write her a little note; if I cannot,
her humility will bear with me, and her charity will
be indulgent to me. I beg of her to ask God to
grant me the grace of being entirely His.
A thousand salutations, daughter darling, to you
and all your dear flock (a little special word to our
two).* Remembrance also to the Rev. Father
Rector, to my dear nephew, and to whom else you
please. Aye, truly sister de Gouffier may well be
admired ! I shall write to her by the chaplain when
he returns. She is only losing her time, and I am
astonished that she has not written to me. Yes,
indeed, she is losing her time. Adieu, my darling,
this holy day of the Feast of St. Claude.
Yours, etc.
* Srs. P6ronne Marie de Chatel and Marie Aim6e dc Blonay.
46 SELECTED LETTERS OF
XIX.
To Sister Marie Aimee de Blonay, Mistress of
Novices at Lyons.*
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1616.
Who can doubt, little one, but that a thousand
imperfections are mingled with all our actions. We
must humble ourselves and own to it, but never be
surprised nor worry about it. Neither is it well to
* We are told in the " History of the Foundation of
Annecy " that Sister Marie Aimee de Blonay fulfilled her
duties as Mistress of Novices with such submission and
reverence as entirely to justify the beautiful name of " The
Living Rule," by which she is known throughout the Order;
for her actions and her teaching were a faithful carrying
out of what she had learned from its two holy Founders.
She often inculcated the following doctrine: " Just as the
Gospel of Jesus Christ is, and always must be, the universal
foundation of our obedience and of our belief, even though
there were a million new worlds, so should the particular
maxims of the Visitation of Annecy be common to all houses
of the Institute, even though it should increase to millions
upon millions of monasteries." It gave St. Francis such
pleasure to hear this ingenious comparison of the Rule to
the Gospel that he ordered the following to be inserted in
the acts and conditions of establishment for every new
foundation: " That the Sisters undertake to live according
to the Rules, Constitutions, and customs of the Monastery
of Annecy." And in answer to a letter about this time
from his dear " Cadette," he says : " My daughter, make
use of this light all your life. Tell what you have seen,
teach what you have heard at Annecy. This root is indeed
little, insignificant, and hidden, but the branch that
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 47
play with the thought, but having made an interior
act of holy humility, turn from it at once and pay no
further attention to your feelings. Now let me hear
no more about them, but use them all as a means of
humbling yourself and of abasing yourself before
God. Behave yourself in His presence as being
truly nothing, and if you do, these feelings about
which you talk will not do you any harm though
they will make you suffer. Indeed, as much may
be said of this fault of over-sensitiveness. Pray
what does it matter whether you are dense and
stolid or over-sensitive ? Any one can see that all
this is simply self-love seeking its satisfaction. For
the love of God let me hear no more of it: love
your own insignificance and the most holy will of
God which has allotted it to you, then whether you
are liked or disliked, reserved or ready-tongued, it
should be one and the same thing to you. Do not
pose as an ignorant person, but try to speak to each
one as being in the presence of God and in the way
He inspires you. If you are content with what you
have said your self-love will be satisfied, if not
content, then you have an opportunity of practising
holy humility. In a word aim at indifference and
separates from it is fit for nothing but to be cut down and
cast into the fire."
The life of Mother Marie Aimee de Blonay was written
by Charles Auguste de Sales, nephew and one of the
successors of St. Francis de Sales in the See of Geneva.
48 SELECTED LETTERS OF
cut short absolutely this introspection and all these
reflections you make on yourself. This I have told
you over and over again.
I can well believe that you are at a loss how to
answer these young persons who want to know,
forsooth, the difference between contemplation
and meditation. How can it be, Sister (The
Superior) puts up with them, or that you do in
her absence? Sweet Jesus, what has become of
humility ? Stop it all, and give them books and
conferences treating of the virtues, and tell them
that they must set about practising them. Later
on they can talk about high things — for by the
exercise of true and solid virtue light comes from
Him who is the Master of the humble, and whose
delight it is to be with souls that are simple and
innocent. At the end of all, when they have become
Angels, they may talk as the Angels do. As to
prayer, be at peace and do not attempt anything
beyond keeping yourself tranquilly near Our Lord.
This too I have often told you. In a word you are
not to move any more than a statue can do. Your
one wish ha- to be to give pleasure to God; now if
He in His goodness shows you what you have to do,
is it right for you to turn from this to do something
else because this, His will, has no interest for you ?
You must take care not to fall into this fault, but be
simple; don't think much about yourself and just do
the best you can.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 49
You have thoroughly satisfied your self-love, in
writing me this paper. However, I will not return
it to you, although I think that were I to do so it
would be a mortification to you. Live wholly with
all simplicity in God. I have a great affection for
Sister Barbe Marie.* Take care of her, teach her to
restrain her over anxiety, which makes her so eager
for her own advancement and for that of everybody
else.
XX.
To the Same.
Vive ^ Jesus!
ANNECY.
January, 1617.
Truly, my dearest little one, you give me extreme
pleasure by writing so fully and so simply. Always
do so. I have shown your letter to his Lordship,
who is very fond of you. God will be with you and
all will go well. Never doubt but that divine Provi
dence will guide and support you in all things, if you
give yourself wholly into Its hands. Employ such
little talents as you possess faithfully, and they will
increase. For the rest what a pity it is that we
* Madame la Pre'sidente Le Blanc.who was converted from
a life of worldliness by St. Francis de Sales, and became a
great benefactress to the new Institute. When at Lyons
she lived in the Convent like a religious, and wished to be
called Sister Barbe Marie.
4
50 SELECTED LETTERS OF
allow ourselves to be upset about what we are and
how we perform our duties. Let us set about them
with simplicity, looking unto God, trusting to His
goodness, then all will be accomplished, all will be
sanctified.
How consoling it is to hear of your courageous
postulants ! Salute all of them affectionately for
me, but to your last novice I pray you to offer my
heart, which I offer her to serve her and to love her
perfectly in Our Lord. What you tell me in your
letter of her fidelity to observance already gives me
great consolation in her regard.
Oh, Saviour of my soul ! how blessed it will be
for her if she persevere ! I exhort all our dear
novices to constancy, and I beg of them to take my
word for it, that their peace will be perfect if they
hold fast without swerving to the observance. May
they forget themselves and all things else in order
to achieve thoroughly this one thing, which is of so
much importance. If they aim at it always faith
fully and humbly, it will bring them inestimable
happiness.
Daylight is failing me, my daughter.
Your very affectionate
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 51
XXI.
To Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre, Superior at
Lyons.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY,
loth April, 1617.
MY MOST DEAR DAUGHTER,
I am sending you back our good Sister
(Madame Colin). I see nothing in her that merits
rejection. Her manner is a little dry, but that is
natural to her, and I think she will improve, for she
is most anxious to be gracious. She certainly seems
to me to have, in the service of God, a well-directed
heart, and a well-disposed mind. She will give you
all our news and tell you about his Lordship, who, I
feel sure, is altogether overworked. She has seen
how he is overwhelmed with business. Grenoble
was the last straw, on account of the endless letters
it has entailed; they are too much for him. If only
those ladies would have a little more consideration
and confine their correspondence with him to what
is useful, or to their spiritual needs ! I am told that
some of them will be visiting you. For God's sake
see if through them you cannot discretely manage
to curtail unnecessary appeals to him. You know
how kind he is and how he never fails to send them a
reply, although we are told that if he does not
greatly retrench his correspondence it will have a
52 SELECTED LETTERS OF
very injurious effect on his health, and will shorten
his days — days which are wholly at the service of
God and his neighbour. This is a matter which it
seems to me ought to concern everybody: so I am
writing to Dijon, Chambery, St. Catherine, and
everywhere I can think of, to ask them to spare him
as much as possible and only to write in cases of
absolute necessity, or at least utility; for in such
cases it cannot be avoided.
No doubt you perceive that I am a little disturbed,
and indeed I am; for this morning I heard several
things about him which have greatly upset me, and
you know how valuable his life is to us — more it
could not be. He will return next year to Grenoble.
A great many people, and I believe half the diocese,
regret it, especially M. de Boisy: but I do not, for it
cannot be much prejudice to the bishopric, and is
sure to be for God's glory, and he will, please God,
reap a double harvest in this second visit. He
greatly praises the goodness and piety of the people
of Grenoble and particularly of the ladies. Poor
Sister Barbe Marie arrived too late, but she made
up for lost time and his Lordship has completely
won her.
This woman has an excellent heart. She it is, I
am told, who ought to introduce the ladies to us.
Encourage her as much as possible to establish the
Visitation at Grenoble. It is really very wonderful
how on all sides they are asking for us, and we have
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 53
no desire to settle ourselves anywhere, except at
Grenoble. Everything looks encouraging in that
direction. The ladies there are enthusiastic to have
a foundation. Recommend the affair to Our Lord,
for it seems to me that it will be for His glory. Our
dear Sister (Barbe Marie) will tell you everything.
She has written to me three times since the return
of his Lordship and I once to her. This is only fair,
for she is not as busy as I am. She is quite devoted
to you. Get a thurible made out of that beautiful
cup; we often need one and have to inconvenience
our neighbours by borrowing from them. Sell our
watch, my child, to help to pay for the making of it.
You will have to do this for we are short of money.
Good Madame Colin insists on our keeping her
watch, but I shall not do so on any account unless
she consents to take the value of it. It keeps good
time and we have much need of such a one.
My poor dear Sister, I dearly love you. Live
solely for God by giving yourself up entirely to His
holy will and letting it act. Indeed, I long to do
likewise and I pray God to let me die if I do not love
Him henceforth with all my strength. Such is the
desire of the miserable little heart of your poor
Mother who has the toothache, so she must stop
writing as soon as she has made up her mind what
answer to give Monseigneur of Bourges. Our good
Bishop will come for it this evening. We seldom,
I assure you, see him now. But we do not mind so
54 SELECTED LETTERS OF
long as he can get through all his work. Would to
God that I could relieve him of it !
Now this is the answer to the Archbishop of
Bourges. Write to the grand-nephew as from your
self and say that if the matter is urgent we shall find
great difficulty in providing Sisters, not having any
yet sufficiently trained. I believe that Monseigneur
intends first sending Cardinal Bellarmine's letter to
the Father Rector, and afterwards to his Grace of
Lyons. . . .
I can understand poor N.'s temptation. Alas !
from what I hear the poor Sister seems quite to have
gone astray. God grant she may get into the right
way again. In conclusion, dear daughter, I hope
you will not take too much to heart what I have said
about his Lordship's correspondence, I acknowledge
to have written forcibly because it is doing him so
much harm. Yesterday I let him know that I was
going to write all round in the hope of curtailing
it, and he told me that I must not do so, for he
could manage very well. You understand, dearest
daughter, I am not addressing myself to you, nor to
any of our Sisters, for I don't wish to stop them from
writing to him when they require his advice. Oh,
indeed I do not ! not them, nor any one. I only
mean that discretion should be used in this matter.
Adieu, my most dear daughter. I embrace you
lovingly in spirit and am wholly yours in our sweet
Saviour. Amen.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 55
XXII.
To the Same.
Vive >J< Jesus !
ANNECY, 1617.
I have three quarters of an hour free, my dearest
daughter, and seize the opportunity to write to you.
You have indeed given me very special pleasure by
speaking a little of your beloved self and of your dear
daughters. God be praised for all you tell me of
both the one and the other. Oh ! my love, if you
but persevere in serving our great and gentle
Redeemer with the highest part of your soul, in
different as you say to all that presents itself, true
happiness will be yours. Souls who act thus are
royal souls. May the divine Majesty give you the
grace of faithful perseverance.
You have done well to discontinue your retreat.
I assure you I never undertake mine in the very hot
weather on account of the great drowsiness which it
causes. Well, if God wishes us to walk like one
who is blind and groping in the dark, what does it
matter ? We know that He is with us.
I am surprised at what you tell me about Paris
and Chalons,* we have heard nothing of it from any
one else. It would be a great boon to us not to
separate for a year : but the Holy will of God comes
* Projected foundations in these towns.
56 SELECTED LETTERS OF
before all things, and grace urges us to the acceptance
of it. If they send me, it will do me good to see you
again.
I do not quite know what to say of Sister *;
tell me about her a little more in detail and of the
effects on her of what she feels.
Consult the Rev. Father Rector and get her to
speak to him herself. She should certainly use
every endeavour to hide what you tell me of, and
should never abandon herself to it; but if there is
humility and simple obedience we need have no
anxiety. You should insist emphatically upon
simplicity, truth, and straightforwardness in all her
actions, above all when she has these consolations.
But in a word, if she possesses virtue you need
fear nothing, even though they may come from the
evil spirit. Nature or the imagination would seem
to me more dangerous. Speak of this, I beg of you,
in her presence to the Father Rector.
I assure you I am consoled to hear about little
Orlandin. But the other little one, Raton, how is she
going on ? My daughter, you do singularly well
not to keep those girls that are unsuitable. Try to
win over their friends so that they may be satisfied
with our own choice of subjects, even though those
we choose may not have much dowry. My God !
how important it is to have good subjects ! I shall
* A Sister at Lyons who enjoyed great spiritual consola
tions. Her name is not given.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 57
be sorry if Sister N. goes, for I think that in time she
may make a good novice mistress and so relieve that
daughter* whose mind is so wearied by the charge.
The continuance of this weariness of hers gives me
pain. Oh ! my daughter, how true it is that we
must be more than women to serve God above all
natural humours and inclinations. Yet what happi
ness so to subdue nature that grace reigns in its
stead ! May it please the good God to assist us, for
we can do nothing without His succour.
I have just written a line to M. Austrain, who begs
of us to keep his daughter at least till September.
We will willingly do so for his sake, but I own to you,
daughter, that she is no gain to us. f
Still no news from Rome. I think His grace the
ArchbishopJ would be glad to help us should this
business be delayed. Beg of him, I beseech you,
to push on the matter and above all by using the
privileges which the Father Procurator says that
he has obtained for us. It is really impossible to
* Sister Marie Aimee de Blonay.
f In another letter to Mother Favre, dated July 3rd,
1617, Saint Jane Frances writes: " The little Christine is
very much frightened at the prospect of returning to her
father (M. Austrain), for she knows that he does not want
her, and she dislikes still more the thought of going to St.
Ursula. A lady came here from Neuville some time ago,
and ever since the little Austrain has desired to be sent
there. She is now imploring her father to let her go to that
town. Help us, I beg of you, to get rid of her quietly and
with courage."
I Mgr. de Marquemont.
58 SELECTED LETTERS OF
submit to anything else. I think, daughter, that
you will do well to write him a humble, dignified,
earnest request on the subject, for I fear the Father
Procurator may be a little slow in following it up:
but write as from yourself. My child, I must con
clude. May God be all to you. Amen.
May His goodness be blessed. Believe me to be
always devoted to you and Sister Barbe Marie and
to all your daughters. ... My child, I write in
such haste that I forget half of what I want to say.
Yes, indeed, most willingly will we make a chalice
veil for you, but not until the very hot weather is
over, for one cannot work neatly while it lasts. I
do not know if we have the silks: Sister Peronne
Marie says we have not, but she will write to you
about it.
XXIII.
To Mother Jeanne Charlotte de Brechard, Superior at
Moulins. On the death of the Saint's daughter,
Madame de Thorens*
Vive >£< Jesus !
ANNECY,
September, 1617.
Ah, Lord Jesus, grant that we may love Thee
perfectly and Thee alone. His divine Goodness has
truly pierced the depths of my heart, and I am
* Marie Aimee de Chantal was born in 1593 ; married, in
1609, Bernard de Sales, Baron de Thorens: died in 1617.
In September of this year the young widow gave birth to a
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 59
overwhelmed with sorrow at the death of my
daughter de Thorens. Yet what can I do but lovingly
kiss the dear hand that has given this terrible blow ?
May it be blessed for ever ! Indeed, this daughter
was as lovable and as sensible as could be found at
her age. I admired her great virtue and was
consoled to see her firm resolve to dedicate herself
entirely to God. O good Jesus, I did not deserve
to have such a companion, and perhaps it was not
good for us to have in this life such enjoyment and
such contentment as she and I had in one another's
society. So she is happy in the sovereign good
which I have always desired for her, and God has
surrounded my affliction with so many mercies and
favours that trying to forget myself in my righteous
sorrow I bless and thank Him for a grace which I
dearly prize.*
daughter at the Visitation Monastery, Annecy, where she
happened to be staying, and was unexpectedly taken ill.
The infant only lived to receive baptism, and Marie Aimee
died two days later, having made her profession in the
Order on her deathbed. St. Francis de Sales, who received
her vows, said he had never seen so holy a death.
* The rest of this letter has been cut off.
60 SELECTED LETTERS OF
XXIV.
To M. de Neucheze, the Saint's nephew.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY,
November 6th, 1617.
I feel sure, my dearest nephew, that, alas ! you
must already know of the death of my dear one.*
Five days after her decease we announced the news
to Mgr. of Bourges,| but I fear the letters may
have been lost. It has truly, my child, been a great
grief to me to be deprived of the presence of this
dear, amiable daughter, but with all my heart I
adore and embrace the divine will which has sent
me this sorrow. There is much to console me in her
happy and holy death, while I am almost in despair
at the thought of the state of soul of your cousin.}
So miserable am I about it that I do not know which
way to turn, if not to the Providence of God, there
to bury my longings, confiding to His hands not only
the honour but even the salvation of this already
half lost child. Oh ! the incomparable anguish of
this affliction ! No other grief, my dearest nephew,
can come near to it. If it were not that I am tied
* The Saint's daughter, Madame de Thorens.
I Archbishop of Bourges, brother of St. Jane Frances.
M. de Neuchdze was Vicar-General and Chancellor of his
Diocese.
{ The Saint's son, Celse Benigne.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 61
down here by a violent ague I would have already
set out to be with him. I am asking him to come
to me: if he does not, I beseech Mgr. of Bourges to
find some pretext for visiting him, and for remaining
with him till he comes to Nantua. Alas ! he must
be helped. I implore of you to do all you can in
the matter. I can say no more. I am overwhelmed
with sorrow, and my tears blind me. Obtain for
him the prayers of all those good souls who walk
steadily in the fear of God. My salutations to all
the household. My dearest nephew, may His good
ness grant you all blessings.
Believe me always your humble aunt and servant,
Sister J. F. Fr6myot of the Visitation.
XXV.
To Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre, Superior at
Lyons.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY,
2$th November, 1617.
This severe mortification which the good N. has
given you is, my dearest daughter, the fruit of the
holy cross. Ah ! may God grant us the grace to
profit by every mortification that He sends us. You
are indeed blessed; for see how the divine Saviour
lays on you burden upon burden. May His goodness
give you His holy strength. He will do so, daughter,
62 SELECTED LETTERS OF
for with your whole soul you have given yourselt
into the arms of divine Providence, and you have no
other arms to bear you up arid no other breast on
which to repose in love save His. Abide there as a
gentle dove in all simplicity and tranquility, not
making account of your afflictions but looking only
at the Heart of Him who has sent them to you.
Here we have truly shed many tears and prayed
much for our dear one who is taken from us.* I
have, however, much consolation; for could there
have come a greater happiness to this pure and
innocent soul than to meet her Saviour ? Rejoice
in her repose, my dearest daughter.
In order not to lose this opportunity of writing to
you I am doing so without having given myself time
to look over your letters again. Believe me,
daughter, that if we are faithful to our vocation,
and if in our little efforts we seek only the pure glory
of God, His majesty will raise us up.
His Lordship wishes us to make another attempt
before sending to Rome M. de Saint e-Catherine, who
will be an admirable agent. God will help us,
daughter, but we must keep lowly and patient and
let ourselves be trampled under foot. His Lordship
hopes that this new petition, supported by our
Rules and the testimonials, will settle the matter.
If the Archbishop thinks well to write a new letter
of recommendation, from himself, to this gentleman
* Madame de Thorens, the Saint's daughter.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 63
who is acting for him, it is quite as it should be, so
long as this gentleman acts in unison with the Father
Procurator of the Barnabites. But to ask him to
send these attestations to the house of Lyons would,
I think, be loss of time, as they have already been
sent here. The Prince, on his side, has heard that
the matter is being taken up warmly. Ah ! well,
we have done what we can, and the success of it we
must leave to the Providence of God and ask Him
to guide and fashion this work according to His holy
will. I hope we shall have some news in a few weeks.
His Lordship left us yesterday, and he asked me
to send you his apologies for not having written to
you, but he will write from Grenoble. He is abso
lutely overwhelmed with business. We spoke of
our vow of obedience, and he believes it to be
pleasing to God. He asked me how you bore that
sharp mortification; but alas ! I could not tell him.
Yes, my dear daughter, we read the Catechism to
the Sisters four times a week,* and if any one wants
to know over and above what is in the book I check
her, saying that she and I must submit our under
standings to what we read without questioning
* St. Jane Frances' insistence on the simple Catechism
instructions was peculiarly applicable to the time in which
she lived, for the Jansenist heresy, added to the errors
of Protestantism, gave rise to a subtle and questioning
attitude of mind, and women, misled by their masters in
error, set themselves up as Doctors in the new heretical
schools of learning.
64 SELECTED LETTERS OF
beyond, and this I find does much good, for such as
we are very ignorant.
Thank you a thousand times for the beautiful wax
candles. They are most acceptable, but one lasts
for a whole year. We have never seen the blessed
grains of incense.
Please forward the packet from Dole at once, and
securely. There is one from his Lordship from
Paris. My darling, I am wholly yours and salute
you all.
This St. Catherine's Day.
XXVI.
To Madame de la
Vive >J< Jesus !
ANNECY, 1617.
Oh ! may our most good and sweet Saviour be the
strength and life of your soul, which is dear to me in
very truth beyond all others, with, as you know, one
* In writing to a mutual friend, M. Philippe de Quoex,
St. Francis de Sales says of Madame de la Flechdre: " With
the exception of Madame de Chantal I do not think that I
have ever met in any woman a soul stronger, a mind more
reasonable, a humility more sincere." Madame de la
Flechere lived at Rumilly, and was a lifelong friend of St.
Jane Frances, to whom she gave her chateau for a Visita
tion foundation, which Convent her daughter Fran£oise de
la Flechere in later years governed. Madame de la Flechere
was received into the Order on her deathbed.
There are no less than sixty letters extant from St.
Francis de Sales to Madame de la Flechdre.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 65
exception, which does not bear comparison. Ah !
my Sister, let us by faithful obedience press forward,
enlarging our love for this all lovable Saviour. No,
we have it not in our power to render Him a service,
we are of too small account for that, but in the name
of His Goodness let us do all we can to please Him,
depending on Him, and on His Providence, so that
it may be our sole support. I have no time to
write, but I must send you this line to content my
own heart and to salute yours. Adieu, and good
morning, my Sister all dear to me.
XXVII.
To Sister Paule Jdronyme de Monthoux,* Mistress
of Novices at Annecy.
Vive >J« Jesus !
GRENOBLE, 1618.
I have received all your letters, my poor dear
daughter; they came in two sets and you have had
* Sister Paule Jeronyme de Monthoux de Annemasse
was the first Superior of the foundation of Nevers, 1620, and
in 1625 of that of Blois. Her biographer, Mother de Chaugy,
tells us that in the houses she founded the virtues of
simplicity, poverty, and humility were so successfully
implanted by her that it could truly be said: " The work
man is recognized in the perfection of his work." She died
at Blois in 1661, where her memory was held in such
veneration that a tombstone was erected in her honour,
half of which tombstone was in the Nun's choir and half
in the secular chapel, in order thus to satisfy the devotion
of the people.
5
r
66 SELECTED LETTERS OF
replies to the first five, but I still have four by me
with questions to answer.
There is no doubt whatever that the novices should
have recourse to their Mistress in every matter,
which the Rule says they are to treat with her, and
it is but fitting that they should be as exact as possi
ble on this point. Sister Assistant should give her
instructions through you : for to act otherwise would
be very prejudicial to them.
Yes, you do well to tell me the more important
things, but you do wrong to call me a Saint. Take
it to confession, and never do it again. My God !
I am nothing but a sink of miseries.
You are right to devote yourself as much as
possible to your duties in the novitiate. The body
is indeed a poor thing, yet be careful to do nothing
to injure your health. May God bless your remedies,
though I very much doubt their curing you: how
ever, in all things we must look solely for His good
pleasure. You are quite wrong, my daughter, in
thinking that Sister Assistant is not altogether open
with you. Do not make such reflections and don't
hesitate about taking your own line. Has not good
M. the Senator been right ? Remember me
most affectionately and respectfully to him. Mean
time I am very much concerned about your illness.
You ought to consult the doctor and do whatever
he tells you. Salute the good man cordially
for me.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 67
How is it the infirmarian never gives me one word
of news ? Well, my dear, I am very fond of her all the
same. I beg of her to gain the mastery over that
heart of hers so that she may train herself to gentle
ness and simple observance; however, I will tell this
dear daughter, Marie Adrienne (Fichet), of this
myself. I am glad that you are employing little
Sister Francoise Marguerite (Favrot). Test her
well so that she may advance in the virtues of
religion.
If these dear novices hold fast to all that is marked
down for them, and I entreat them to do so, they
will make great progress. Do not be afraid to write
quite candidly to me; letters are slow but sure in
coming. I wish you could be a little clearer and
more detailed in speaking of the causes which
prevent the Superior from being quite fitted for her
office; I thought they were exterior rather than
interior. Ah ! what a pity that our negligence should
be of such prejudice to the service of our good God.
Write openly and walk faithfully in uprightness,
simplicity, and great gentleness, bearing with your
neighbour, and supporting her without stint. Seek
God in all things and be faithful to Him. He looks
to the intention. Speak out boldly, with entire
confidence to our good M. Michel; he is a good and
sincere man. Adieu, my daughter. May the great
Jesus make you all His own. Amen.
68 SELECTED LETTERS OF
XXVIII.
To M. Michel Favre, Confessor to St. Francis de
Sales, and to the Religious of the Visitation at
Annecy.
Vive tp Jesus !
GRENOBLE, 1618.
Most truly, good Father and dear son, do I long
for leisure to write as my heart dictates to you, but
it is impossible. My feelings towards you are those
of a mother, and greatly have you consoled me by
your kindness in telling me how God has made
known His will to those two dear sisters who aspire
to Him and find their rest in His paternal bosom.
It gives me ineffable consolation, seeing that I myself
have this same attraction, but I should like to know
the very words that were communicated to them so
that I may feed my soul upon them. This I say
from my heart. Give me then this satisfaction, and
do you also nourish yourself with this sacred manna.
Truly having this, how can we seek elsewhere for
other place of security and rest ?
Alas ! dear Father, how pitiable are our infirmities
and imperfections ! These two Sisters appear to me
to be unduly observant of one another. They have
this defect by nature, and I think it better that I
should not tell them of it, lest they suffer from
jealousy, both having so much affection for me and
such a desire to please me; but if you put it before
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 69
them and induce them to be more simple, cordial,
and open with one another that is all that is needed
to set matters right, for I plainly see that each fears
to do wrong. Sister Assistant, who seems to me the
least in fault, ought to divert Sister N.'s mind, and
be trustful and more companionable, compassionately
bearing with her, and in this way draw her out of her
melancholy. That is how I should act, and by so
doing I have often relieved and cured souls : warming
their hearts with confidence, talking over matters
with them quite openly, while consulting them as if
I had need of their advice, and trusting them; yet
referring neither to their state of melancholy, nor to
the subjects on which they philosophize; neither to
their difficulties nor to the concerns of their neigh
bour. In a word, let these sisters act as charity will
teach them, if they but ask Our Lord. For, as our very
dear Lord * said to me yesterday, " It is to the humble
souls that the divine Goodness gives true wisdom."
Verily, if there is any lack of conformity to the
teachings of our Institute it is most improper that
the sister novices should know of it. This is a thing
of importance, and is too serious to be dealt with
merely as we may feel inclined. The Mistress should
lead the Novices according to the ordinary exercises
of the house, and if on some occasion she differs in
opinion as to these, she should communicate with
the Superior, and learn from her how to act. But
* St. Francis de Sales.
70 SELECTED LETTERS OF
for ordinary things, when the sisters who are under
the charge of the Mistress come to speak to the
Superior of their interior state and their difficulties
she should, before answering, ask them if they have
spoken to their Mistress and what she said on the
subject. If their Mistress has wisely instructed, let
her confirm what the Mistress has said, and en
courage them to follow her direction ; if, on the con
trary, the Mistress has led them astray she ought
not to let the novice know it, but put her imper
ceptibly on the right way, and then go herself to the
Mistress, talk the matter over with her, instructing
her, and instilling into her a desire to serve the
Sisters affectionately. To me it seems always better,
when necessary, to nourish the esteem and confidence
of the novices for their Mistress. I should like the
Superior to speak to them as far as possible only
through her, except when the Rule ordains other
wise. But I have already written so much about
this that I hope it will be done; for I certainly see
that our Sister Assistant has an excellent heart.
She must be encouraged to get out of herself, and to
seek the advancement and repose of the Sisters with
simplicity and integrity: only speaking to them for
this end, and to console them : for sometimes for our
own satisfaction we have an awkward way of teasing
and worrying others by inopportunely returning to a
subject which we should never do if we gave our
selves time to reflect.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 7!
I write to you as to a trusty friend. Manage it
all, very dear Father, as you think best. It seems
to me that if you do it as coming from yourself it
will be better received than if they thought you had
complained to me, or than if I said it myself.
Certainly this life is full of mortifications, there
fore it is necessary to keep ourselves above it, looking
for a better life in which you will clearly see how
sincerely I am,
Yours, etc.
XXIX.
To Sister Anne Marie Rosset, Assistant at Annecy.
Vive tfa Jesus !
GRENOBLE, 1618.
It will be a great comfort to you, my very dear
Sister, to see His Lordship,* and to hear that all the
people here expect to become more fervent in the
service of Our Lord by means of this house. God
grant it may be so ! What a consolation it is to
hear that Sister Paule Jeronyme is fulfilling so well
her very important charge. I hope all our dear
Sisters will by a faithful and strict observance of
our holy Rules advance every day in the way of
Our Lord. To this fidelity, in the name of our
sweetest Saviour, I exhort them, and I embrace
them all in spirit with true and most sincere love.
They should continue as the Rule teaches, and with
* St. Francis de Sales left Grenoble to return to Annecy
just at this time.
72 SELECTED LETTERS OP
earnestness, to pray for the health and the growth
in holiness of his Lordship. And let them neither
forget us, nor the other new and dear foundations
that are being planted here and there by the hand
of Our Lord; for these ought to be as dear to us as
our own, since it is the divine Will that we dwell in
perfect union of heart, as by the grace of God we do.
Salute all our friends for me, especially dear Madame
de la Valbonne, not forgetting my poor old Sister
Anne Jacqueline, nor my friends the workmen, for
whom I have a great liking.
XXX.
To Sister Paul Jeronyme de Monthoux, Mistress of
Novices at Annecy.
Vive *%* Jesus !
GRENOBLE,
26th April, 1618.
MY POOR JERONYME,
I know all about your little difficulties with
good Sister Assistant. You were like two children,
but I see by your last letter you are now simple and
frank as children ought to be with one another.
What pleasure this gives me ! It is just how I desire
to see the heart of my dearest little Jeronyme. You
must keep it up and make no reflections whatever
on the past. As it helps you so much to tell me
about your troubles, do so, my daughter, for I am
very glad to know them. You will have to be very
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 73
very generous in bearing with yourself and with
others. Certainly, speak out fearlessly, in a spirit
of charity and cordial confidence, to Sister Assistant
of all you think proper. God be praised for the
satisfactory way in which your dear novices are
getting on. You should be continually helping them
to advance, but do it gently, and bear with the little
weaknesses which are in some. Yes, the Mistress
can speak to them when necessary at their assembly
and can send a young professed sister to fetch her
work. Their letters ought to be given to her, who
can doubt it ? She can also speak to the novices
during great silence but not without necessity.
Should the number in the novitiate be considerable
you must, in a spirit of charity, take what time you
think necessary to satisfy them. I have a great
affection for you, child. No, no; you must not say
to the Sister Assistant, " Our Mother would not do
that," unless it be in council, and then only if
necessary and with great respect.
XXXI.
To Madame de la Flecker e.
Vive >J< Jesus !
BOURGES,
2nd February, 1619.
Only one word, my dearest Sister, for it is not long
since I wrote to you, and I await good news of you.
My own, thank God, is good. Our little house goes
74 SELECTED LETTERS OF
on peaceably, its good odour increasing. As to my
children, I hope my daughter's marriage with M. de
Foras will soon be arranged, and that she will settle
in Burgundy.*
My son f gives me as keen a sorrow as ever a mother
could suffer — the cause I will tell you when we meet .
He is at court, brave and gallant as he can be, and
they tell me, that he is resolved to conduct himself
well and to make his fortune. My own wish is that
he should do so with our good Prince, but I know
not what he will do. My dear Father will help him.
I am overwhelmed with letters that have to be
answered, so I must conclude. O, my very dear
vSister, may the great Jesus be our only love !
Amen.
* This marriage never took place, for, though St. Jane
Frances desired it, Fran9oise could not make up her mind
to accept the gentleman.
f Celse Benigne, in whose character good and bad
qualities were so mingled that he was at once the joy and
the anguish of his mother, each time he risked the life of
both his soul and body by the unfortunate duels in which
he was so often engaged, nearly broke her heart. In
order to avoid the seductions of Paris and the dangerous
influence of his friends, the Saint was anxious to have him
attached to the Court of Savoy, but her project did not
find favour with the young Baron.
St. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 75
XXXII.
To Mother Jeanne Charlotte de Brechard, Superior at
Moulins.
Vive >p Jesus !
PARIS,
July gth, 1619.
MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,
This is only a line to announce the arrival of
a good young lady* whom his Lordship and I are
sending to you. She needs a home to retire to, and
* The lady so charitably recommended to Mother de
Brechard was Mademoiselle de Morville (Madame du
Tertre) . Left a widow at twenty-two, she had long before
given herself up to a life of vanity and worldly pleasure.
Her parents, anxious to safeguard her honour and the
future of her children, procured for her an introduction to
St. Francis de Sales, who was then in Paris. The result of
this acquaintance was that Madame du Tertre quickly
renounced her unedifying life and asked to be admitted into
a Visitation Monastery, not as an aspirant to religious life
but as a secular benefactress.
Thinking it desirable to remove her to a distance from
Paris, where the temptations to return to her former life
might prove too strong for one so weak and so recently
converted, St. Francis arranged with her family and with
Mother de Chantal to ask Mother de Brechard to give her a
home in her convent. His solicitude was ill repaid. This
volatile and mischievous young woman brought endless
bitterness to his heart, and to that of St. Jane Frances,
while she was the source of misery and contention in the
community in which she lived. In due time, acting upon
the advice of their holy Founder, who was ever too hopeful
in his views about Madame du Tertre, she was allowed to
make her profession, but she soon relapsed into her former
76 SELECTED LETTERS OF
ardently desires to find it with us. Now, as we can
not have her here, we hope you will welcome her
and look after her lovingly and charitably. She is
a lady of quality and can give a good pension. She
will not come to you for a fortnight, so that you may
have time to get everything suitably ready for her.
See that she has a little room with a very neat and
comfortable bed and all things as we are accustomed
to have them. Adieu, she will give you all our news.
Do not expect his Lordship for the clothing ceremony.
Alas ! this good and dear Father feels far from well.
Pray for him. I wrote to you the other day.
XXXIII.
To Mother Peronne Marie de Chdtel, Superior at
Grenoble.
Vive ^ Jesus !
PARIS, 1619.
You ask me, my dear daughter, if we are poor.
Yes, indeed we are, but I hardly ever give it a
thought. Heaven and earth may pass away, but
the word of God remains eternally as the foundation
of our hope. He has said that if we seek His kingdom
and His justice all the rest shall be added unto us.
disedifying and uncontrolled manner of living, thereby
becoming the cause of great suffering to the Institute. A
letter of St. Jane Frances' shows that her repentance at
the end was genuine, and that she died happily in peace
with God.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 77
I believe Him, and I trust in Him. The extreme
necessity in which we sometimes find ourselves gives
us opportunities of practising holy confidence in
God and rare perfection. Truly we already see how
wise it is to adhere to Him and to hope in Him
against all human hope, for our foundation has been
a thousand times more successful than we dared to
anticipate.
XXXIV.
To Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre, Superior at
Lyons.
Vive tfc Jesus !
PARIS,
September 29, 1619.
What a great consolation for you, my very dear
daughter, to have the joy of a little visit from our
dearest Father ! It is such a relief that he is out of
Paris, where the epidemic* is so bad that his
departure was a delight to me. Although it sur-
* We read in the inedited " Foundations of the First
Monastery of Paris": " In the years 1619 and 1620 God
permitted a terrible plague to break out in Paris. Terror
drove away not only the court but almost the entire popu
lation, who sought safety in flight. So deserted did this
great city become that we are told the grass grew in the
streets. As might be expected in such circumstances, the
alms upon which our newly established Community sub
sisted entirely ceased, and to add to our misfortunes we
were surrounded by infected houses. All day long we
could hear the tinkle of the little bell that announced the
passing of the death waggon in front of the house."
78 SELECTED LETTERS OF
rounds us do not fear for us, daughter, only pray
earnestly that we may accomplish the most holy
will of our good God. I have every confidence that
nothing will happen but what is His good pleasure,
and what pleases Him pleases us. So if it is His
will I shall often write to you, and I will address all
my letters to his Lordship, who has desired me to
keep him well acquainted with our news. I wish
you could find out the best address for our letters
and tell me also how you will send yours. It would
be well to take advantage of M. Rousselet when he
returns to this town, for he has a brother at Lyons.
I do not give you any news, dear daughter, for I
have commissioned my nephew de Boisy to do it;
and besides, you know it is a thing which is distaste
ful to me. One thing only is necessary — to possess
God, and for this I have a burning desire. This
alone is happiness. All the rest is mere smoke.
Cling then with constancy to this holy aim. Write
to me of your interior state: you will be reviewing
it now.* O God, how I love that heart of my great
and dear daughter ! I long to see it generous, pure,
perfect, in a word united in a holy union with the
Heart of its amiable and adorable God. Adieu, my
daughter, a thousand good mornings to you and to
your dear flock. I do not know if his Grace of
Lyons has returned: he will mayhap want to delay
* The autumn has always been the season appointed for
the annual Retreats of the Sisters of the Visitation.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 79
the change of your congregation into a monastery.*
It is, however, expedient that it should be done
before you are taken away. His Lordship will speak
to you of this. But it must be managed very tact
fully. One word in conclusion. Test your daughters
well before their profession.
Adieu, my daughter. I am always yours in Our
Lord. You know this. May He be blessed ! St.
Michael's Day.
XXXV.
To Sister Marie- Avoye Humbert, at Moulins.
Vive ^ Jesus !
PARIS, 1619.
I want you to know, my dear little daughter, what
a great consolation your letter has been to me. You
have portrayed your interior state with much
simplicity, and believe me, little one, I tenderly love
that heart of yours and would willingly undergo
much for its perfection. May God hear my prayer,
and give you the grace to cut short these perpetual
reflections on everything that you do. They dissi
pate your spirit. May He enable you instead to use
all your powers and thoughts in the practice of such
* The Archbishop of Lyons, Mgr. de Marquemont,
although the first to urge that the Visitation should have
enclosure and solemn vows, was the last to put in force the
Bull erecting it into a Religious Order. He held back in
the hope of inducing the house at Lyons to undertake
the reciting of the great Canonical Office.
8o SELECTED LETTERS OF
virtues as come in your way. How happy would
you then be, and I how consoled ! Make a fresh
start in good earnest, my darling, I beg of you. For
faults of inadvertence and suchlike, humble yourself
in spirit before God, and after that do not give them
another thought. You will do this, will you not,
my love ? Ah, do ! I ask it through the love you
bear to your poor mother. For the rest, say out
boldly eve^thing in your letters; they always con
sole me. Let nothing worry you. Always yours
in sincerity. Pray much for me. May the sweet
Jesus accomplish in you His holy will !
XXXVI
To the Sisters of the Visitation of Bourges.
Vive ^ Jesus !
PARIS,
October 3, 1619.
MY BELOVED DAUGHTERS,
The affection I bear you is my only motive
in striving to serve and console you : I need no other
spur, for that one is boundless. But God does not
intend that we should see each other for the present,
and we willingly submit our desires to His holy will.
Meanwhile, let us prepare ourselves by a greater
fidelity to observance to profit by the occasion should
He arrange a meeting for us.
Above all things, dear daughters, dwell together,
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 81
I beseech of you, in a great and magnanimous love
of His holy will, and a gentle mutual support of
one another, which will ravish the HEART 01 the
sovereign Goodness: for our good Saviour has said
that it is by our love for one another that we shall
be recognized as His disciples.
No leisure for more — I recommend myself to your
prayers. May God dwell habitually in your midst
and heap upon you His choicest graces !
Yours always in Him. May He be blessed !
XXXVII.
To the Sisters of the Visitation of Moulins.
Vive ^ J^sus !
PARIS,
December i^th, 1619.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTERS,
We are now beginning a new year, and with
my whole heart I come to beg a favour of you. For
the sake of the honour and privilege of being
daughters of Our Lady will you not grant it to me ?
for all the affection of which I am capable is bound
up in the asking. It is this, to make a strong and
effectual resolve to walk in the way of exact obser
vance, obeying simply, in all humility and meek
ness.
In the name of God, let not self-conceit be seen
amongst you, nor desire of offices, nor of high places ;
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but rather, in the knowledge of your own weaknesses
and miseries, cultivate a great love of humiliations,
of self-abasement, and of all things lowly. Never
use sharp words one to another. Holy gentleness,
cordiality, and union of heart should reign instead
among you, so that a gracious affability may season
all your words and actions, and no shadow of
repugnance ever show itself. Do not think about
whether you are loved more or less than another.
Kill such little foxes, I pray you, for they will steal
away the peace of your hearts. We should never
desire to be loved, but believe that we get as much
affection as God sees good for us.
Never make questions as to whom the charges are
given ; never desire them. The divine will ought to
be the rule of our will and enough for us. Now,
my dear Sisters, give the Holy Virgin, our Lady, the
pleasure of seeing you serve our sweet Master, her
dear Son, by being faithful to these little counsels
which I give on their part, and in their presence.
I ask this of you through the infinite goodness of
the Son and Mother, while I beseech them to grant
you a superabundance of graces and their eternal
benediction. Amen.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 83
XXXVIII.
To Mother Peronne-Marie de Chdtel,* Superior at
Grenoble,
Vive *%4 Je'sus !
PARIS,
January i$tht 1620.
Ah ! how is it, my darling, my dearest daughter,
that you expect a severe letter from me ? I tell
you candidly, and glory be to God for it, your heart
is too good to deserve scolding, and even if it were
not, I have no inclination to scold. In a letter which
I received from his Lordship speaking of the houses
(of the Institute) that he has visited, he says: " To
speak quite openly, at Grenoble I have found one
who is a Superior altogether after my own heart."
Now, you may imagine, my daughter, what good it
did my heart to hear this. Yes, indeed I love you
very dearly, but I can give you no better advice than
to walk straight on in your own path, which is a
good one, without turning to right or left. You
are wonderful in the way you complain of yourself.
Remember, that if God permits you to be so un
faithful, He allows these little negligences so that
* Such was the reputation for fervour of the Monastery of
Grenoble that many distinguished members of the Society
of Jesus, and of other Orders, spoke of it as a " Furnace of
Prayer," and a " School of Virtues," but the humility of
Mother de Chatel hid from her the great work that God was
accomplishing through her means in her own community.
84 SELECTED LETTERS OF
you may always have wherewith to humble your
self. When God consoles you receive His consola
tions quite simply, accepting alike good and ill.
In a word, my daughter, you must unite yourself
to God in everything, and by everything, and lead
your daughters in the same way. As to a spiritual
Father, nothing more can be done. You must
continue to have patience for a little longer and God
will provide you with one. Meanwhile be all things
to your daughters, and then all will go well. It is
a great consolation to hear that they are so good.
Oh ! Lord Jesus, pour down Thy graces upon this
chosen company. Pray much for us. The choice
of a house here depends upon his Lordship, and we
are at our wits' end to find a suitable one; however,
we hope to be settled this summer. Well, my
daughter, God alone suffices; were He our only con
solation, and did we never wish for any other, how
happy we should be ! Let us hold to this, for
nothing else matters. Adieu, my love. Pray, and get
prayers for my children, I beseech you. You are
most truly, believe me, the very dear daughter of
my heart.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 85
XXXIX.
To Mademoiselle de Chantal.
[The Saint tells her daughter of M. de Toulonjon's pro
posal of marriage.]
Vive ^ Je"sus !
PARIS, 1620.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,
Let us bless God who takes such care of His
children who trust in Him. His divine Providence
is arranging for you something that I think you will
like: and for my part, it is altogether desirable to me.
Your brother is going to see you and he will tell you
about the gentleman,* whom you do not know but
who has seen you. He is our neighbour at Monthe-
lon, a fine straightforward, brave gentleman, rich
too, and with a very well-appointed house. We are
extremely pleased at the honourable way in which
he comes to make his courtship. Tell me promptly
and candidly, I beg of you, my dear daughter, if
your affections are free, for if so, and that you
continue as reasonable and submiss ve as you
promised me to be in your last letter, you will be
happier than you or I could have dreamt of. For
the love of God, my darling, put your whole heart
entirely into the hands of God and don't let yourself
be prejudiced by any foolish talking, or taken up
with silly thoughts and apprehensions. Let us act,
* M. de Toulonjon.
86 SELECTED LETTERS OF
for your happiness is dearer to us than it is to
yourself.
If it please the great God to bring this affair to a
satisfactory termination, verily you will be happy
and well pleased, for this gentleman is all that I
could desire for you. All the rest I leave for your
brother to tell you. Do not speak about this matter
to anyone, but pray and send me your answer as
soon as you can. Now don't fail to do so. Write
by two routes and promptly. In fifteen days I shall
send to the coach office for your answer, and I beg
of you to have it there for me. As regards other
business, I have already asked you to urge M.
Coulon to sell Foretz. Be sure to see to this; for we
must have three thousand crowns in ready money,
as I have promised that sum. Arrange that M.
Coulon pays you in full, at latest within six months ;
urge him, and be careful to see that there is no un
necessary expenditure. I write in the greatest
haste. God bless you, my child. Unite with me in
praising and blessing Him always. I shall settle
things to your best advantage, so have no fear,
dearest daughter.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 87
XL.
To Mother Jeanne Charlotte de Brechard, Superior at
Moulins.
Vive ^ Jesus !
PARIS,
March I2th, 1620.
I know well, my dearest Sister, how deeply you
felt the news of my son's accident,* for your heart
is so full of love for me that all my sorrows are
sorrows to you. I did not mention it when writing
because I did not think of it. God has given me the
grace not to be very much upset by this news, which
was broken to me bluntly enough. Indeed, it was
an unlooked for happening, and one in which a wiser
man than he could not have refused to come to the
assistance of an injured friend. Such is the way of
the world. All the same he got into trouble about
it, without, however, being too much inconvenienced,
and the affair is now all settled. The good gentle
man whom the sergeant tried to take away was
badly wounded and has not yet recovered; but
thank God all the rest are on their feet again.
Your prayers will be of use to my son and he needs
them. We are thinking of marrying my daughterf
* The young Baron de Chantal had just been compro
mised, not in a duel, but in one of those sudden assaults
so common at that period, in which he took part in order to
defend a friend who had been attacked.
f Fran9oise de Chantal.
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to M. de Toulon j on, the brother of Mme. de la
Poivriere. The matter has been proposed to us
through M. Dautesy. My nephew d'Effran and my
son know him well, and they consider it a very
advantageous match for my daughter and advise me
not to refuse. The gentleman declared his intentions
most honourably and with all deference. He is a
frank, honest man.
Do not speak of this for the present, my love, but
pray about it, for I fear my daughter's irresolution.
She is a painful anxiety to me.
Our M. Lefevre has not come; if you can tell me
where he is staying I would invite him, or indeed
beg of him to come here; however, the chancellor is
very likely to be with the King.
The girl I proposed to you as a lay sister lives near
Moulins, but if you have others whom you yourself
know, do not trouble about her, it does not signify.
Your plan of treating with the Sisters for the Nevers
foundation is, I consider, admirable. They have
done the same at Orleans. But, my dear friend, see
that everything is on a very secure footing and only
treat with good subjects, such as you know they
ought to be. For the rest visit and find out all
about the place they propose selling to you before
you purchase it, and arrange, if you can, as they
have done at Orleans, to purchase in case it proves
suitable, and if not desirable as a permament resi
dence, to rent it. What you tell me about the
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 89
Carmelites wishing to take it keeps me in a state
of uncertainty, for they are extremely prudent and
have very competent people to help them. But the
good Father of our Sisters (Bonsidat) can do much
with the advice of the Jesuits. I think, or rather I
fear, they may be very glad to put us off now that
the Carmelites are coming. Indeed, we must put
the affair into the hands of God and follow good
counsel as you are doing. You should make quite
certain of the consent of the gentlemen of Nevers
and of the authorities of the town before taking the
Sisters there; for this reason we must obtain it, at
latest, by Easter, as it is so far from Nessy, and I
think those for Orleans will be sent by Pentecost.
By the way, you have not told me if they have sent
you a mistress of novices; but as dear Sister Marie
Helene (de Chastellux) is doing so well I think you
might do with her. Certainly, my child, if the
Superior of Nevers is from Nessy that is enough.
Don't urge Mgr. of Lyons, but let him do as he likes.
Your spiritual Father can give permission for the
departure of the Sisters.
You see I am writing in breathless haste. We are
always overwhelmed with work here; but to-day it
is because I have a heavy cold for which I was bled
yesterday. You know how subject I am to these
colds, but you need not be in the very least anxious
about me. Would to God, my dearest friend, that you
kept as well as I do, and that they took as much
90 SELECTED LETTERS OF
care of you ! It distresses me that you have no one
to look after you. May God in His goodness provide
you with someone ! Take what care you can of
yourself, I beseech you.
I have had no news of his Lordship for a long time,
but I know he is quite well. Thank God, I think he
will soon go to Piedmont. M. de Boisy is coadjutor
in the bishopric of Geneva. No more time. I
salute your dear family and your hostess. I cannot
write more. Good-bye, my dearest and best of
daughters, for whom I have such a special love.
Urge on your daughters gently in the way of holy
tranquillity and recollection. Amen.
XLI.
To Mademoiselle de Chantal.
PARIS, 1620.
Listen to this, daughter dear. M. de Toulonjon
finds himself free for eight or ten days, and off he is
going to know whether you consider him too old to
please you; for as regards everything else he is in
hopes of finding favour with you. As for me, to be
candid with you I see nothing to find fault with in
him, and even nothing more to wish for. I never
before remember feeling such satisfaction about a
temporal matter. Our Lord has given me this
feeling. It is not so much this gentleman's good
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 91
nature and good birth that attracts me as his mind,
disposition, candour, his good sense, uprightness,
and reputation. In a word, my dear Fran£oise, we
may well bless God about this affair. In gratitude
to Him, my child, you should try to love and serve
Him better than you have ever done and to let
nothing whatsoever prevent you from frequenting
the sacraments and from practising humility and
gentleness. Take the Devout Life for your guide
and it will lead you safely. Do not lose your time
over such little vanities as jewels and clothes. You
are about to possess them in abundance, but, dear
daughter, never forget that we should use the good
things God gives us without being attached to them,
and everything that the world esteems should be
looked upon in this light. Henceforth, let your
ambition be to be adorned with honour and modest
discretion in the position into which you are about
to enter. Indeed I am gratified that your relatives
and I have arranged this marriage without you. It
is thus that the wise act, and I should like always
to be your counsellor. Besides, your brother, who
has a good judgment, is charmed with this alliance.
M. de Toulonjon it is true is some fifteen years your
senior, but, my child, you will be far happier with
him than if you married a foolish, inconsiderate
young scamp such as are the young men of to-day.
You are marrying a man who is nothing of all this,
who never gambles, but who has passed his life at
92 SELECTED LETTERS OF
court and in the battlefield with honour and who has
a high appointment from the King. You will not
have the good judgment with which I credit you if
you do not receive him cordially and frankly. Do
so, my daughter, with a good grace, and be assured
that God has you in His mind and will not forget you
if you throw yourself tenderly into His arms, for He
takes care of those who trust in Him.
XLII.
To Sister Marie-Marthe Legros, at Bourges.
Vive ^ Jesus !
PARIS, 1620.
MY VERY DEAR SlSTER,
I understand perfectly, and have never
doubted but that your intention was upright. Don't
be afraid to tell me what you think it your duty to
mention, but, my love, do not worry yourself about
such things, if they are not manifest faults. Leave
them to the coadjutrix, who ought to do her duty
in all humility and cordiality. Tell her from me
that I will do all she asks me, but I cannot write
to her this time. For God's sake observe the rules
punctually, and have all of you but one heart and
one soul, and so will your love be perfect in Our
Lord. Give my affectionate love to my poor fat
Sister M. M., and dear little M. Louise; both are in
my heart. I wish all happiness to the two deaj
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 93
daughters Marie-Francoise and Anne-Marie; I pray
God to give them and all of you the virtue of holy
obedience, the mother of all virtues.
Be sure to tell the dear professed that they have a
bigger share of my heart than they dream of. But
as to the reception to the habit of Sister this
child has not the conditions marked, why then have
they given her their votes ? They do not set
sufficient value on fidelity to the Rule. Votes should
never be given in the hope of amendment, you should
see the improvement first before giving the habit,
and the same with regard to Sister C. M. : she should
not make her profession at the end of the year.
Why ! in truth she has only really conducted herself
as a novice for six months, so she ought, I consider,
to be kept back, and this will prove her perseverance
and bring home to her that she does not deserve to
be professed, and that with humility and submission,
such matters should be left in the hands of the
Superior, and the Sisters. By this prolongation of
her trial, her virtue and her dispositions will be
tested.
May God in His goodness give you all His spirit,
and the grace to weigh well all our Rules, so that
they may be observed and followed even to the most
insignificant point, for in this our happiness consists.
Adieu to you, my dear Sister, and to all our dear
professed. Let us love God and accomplish His
will, I beseech you, my dearly loved daughter.
94 SELECTED LETTERS OF
XLIII.
To Madame du Tertre.
Vive ^ J6sus !
PARIS,
ii August, 1620.
MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,
Having a little free time I make use of it to
beg of you in the name of God to accept the judge
ment of the Bishop of Geneva, to whom you have
referred this affair, and who considers that what was
so deliberately settled on the house of Nevers should
remain with that house. You, my dearest daughter,
ought to be indifferent about such matters so long
as we give you all you desire. Why should you
trouble as to what use we make of your gift since
quite sufficient is provided for your maintenance ?
If you keep to your holy desire of living amongst us
and giving yourself entirely to God you must, if you
please, trust his Lordship and show that you are
satisfied with his decision. As for us, we desire
neither law-suit nor contention, and a hundred times
would we prefer to return all you have given us
rather than retain it with the least accompanying
unpleasantness : for we value peace with holy poverty
incomparably more than all the goods this world
can give us.
The Bishop of Geneva will not disclaim what I now
say to you. I am a little surprised that, since his
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 95
letters have arrived, we have received no news except
that much pressure is being brought to bear on our
Sisters of Nevers to induce them to return the money
they have received. It is their Bishop tells me this.
You understand, my very dear daughter, that if you
desire to persevere, as I believe you do, you must
please, now that you are acquainted with the views
of his Lordship of Geneva, cease to discuss this
matter.
Our poor Sisters of both houses are sorely afflicted
at having to give ear to a style of conversation with
which they are unacquainted — peace is more to
them than such things. Let them have it, then, I
pray you.
Believe me,
Always yours, etc.
XLIV.
To M. de Palierne, Treasurer of France at
Moulins.
Vive >J< J£sus !
PARIS,
SlR, August 15, 1620.
Your regard for the Bishop of Geneva and
for our little Institute, together with the prudence
with which you have always guided our Convent of
Moulins, gives me hope that you will find a means
of adjusting the opposing claims of the Bishop of
Nevers and Madame du Tertre. The pregnant
g6 SELECTED LETTERS OF
arguments you put forward bear, I acknowledge,
great weight, but so do those of his Lordship of
Nevers. I see much to consider on both sides. Yet
I tell you frankly, and it seems to me that I am not
unreasonable in my opinion, that, in consideration
of Madame du Tertre' s resolve to live with us, what
she has so freely given ought to be left with the house
of Nevers: otherwise she would have to make a
virtue of necessity, and this we should be sorry to
oblige her to do. But I am chiefly influenced by the
fact that the authorities of Nevers only gave permis
sion for the establishment of the Convent because
Madame du Tertre accompanied her petition by a
promise of ten thousand crowns, which promise was
followed by the actual purchase in her name of a
property, and the payment of a third of the founda
tion money; and on the strength of this the Sisters
were received. Possession was afterwards taken of
the house. The Sisters were installed by the Bishop,
enclosure established, and the Blessed Sacrament
reserved. Since that day the Divine Office* has been
continuously recited. Thus, the foundation is, as you
see, completely established. How, then, can Madame
du Tertre, having undertaken the financial establish
ment of this house, now draw back without upsetting
the whole affair ? For as his Lordship of Nevers has
upon two occasions plainly told me, the spiritual
foundation cannot exist without the temporal.
* The Little Office of Our Lady.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 97
Do you not see, Sir, that to do what this young
lady wishes would mean ruining one of our houses
to ensure abundance to the other house.
My very dear brother, may I, Sir, so call you ?
When writing to you, I have often thought of doing
so because of my sisterly confidence in, and affection
for you, and because of the obligations under which
you have placed me. This I say simply and frankly,
though perhaps somewhat unconventionally. Allow
me Sir, my very dear brother, to tell you that the
property is not ours to divide. As Madame du
Tertre no longer wishes to adhere to her first resolve,
she may be at liberty to take back what she has
given, but I do not know what justice would have
to say on this point. Still, putting justice aside,
the Bishop of Geneva would surely not approve of
our retaining one teston* that was not freely given.
Oh ! of that there is no doubt. But as she has
entered amongst us, and as our house of Moulins is
satisfied with the twenty thousand francs she
brings, acknowledging that this sum is quite suffici
ent to provide the young lady with all she requires,
and as the affair concerns our own houses, is it not
better to follow the advice of his Lordship of Geneva
and share the ten thousand crowns between the two
houses ? or at least leave ten thousand francs to
Nevers, so that that house may not be ruined. It
was upon the assurance of this from our Moulins
* An old French coin.
7
SELECTED LETTERS OF
sisters that those of Nevers decided to go to that
town. Before God, how can we possibly put into
the power of the Bishop of Nevers such a favourable
pretext for sending the sisters away ? Oh ! can you
not see, my very dear brother, how shameful it
would be, and how prejudicial to the service of God ?
Although the houses are ours, and we have the
principal interest in them, the agreement has been
more to the advantage of this dear young lady than
to us. For with her twenty thousand francs she
possesses at Moulins all the privileges she could hope
for were it fifty thousand, and besides, when there is
just reason, in virtue of her title of benefactress,
she is free to pass on to Nevers and there enjoy the
same rights as are conferred on her at Moulins. This,
in my opinion, is a very just arrangement and I most
humbly beg of you to induce her to accept it. Use
your influence with her, I beseech of you, for the
honour and glory of God and of His Blessed Mother,
and also for the love you bear our little Institute.
Madame du Tertre desired to know the wishes of the
Bishop of Geneva, and he has acceded to her request.
Let her then accommodate herself to his views and
live in peace. I appeal to you in the name of God,
for I see no other way of settling this affair, and I
own candidly that I can obtain nothing more from
his Lordship of Nevers, who holds out for the full
sum and writes about it in a very matter-of-fact way.
I answer as God directs me, resolved through His
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 99
grace to place all in His hands and to remain in
peace and submission to whatever divine Providence
ordains.
I beg of our Sisters of Moulins to do whatever
justice demands. Oh ! what a shame it would be to
see our houses sueing one another ! A thousand
times rather would I prefer to see them overwhelmed
with reproaches and poverty than that this should
ever happen. If, dearest brother, after all these
humble petitions and arguments, Madame du Tertre
and our Sisters of Moulins wish to act against those
of Nevers she must do as she pleases; but we shall
neither blame them nor defend ourselves, for to do
so would not be the will of God, and under these
circumstances I am persuaded it would be better
for one or other entirely to surrender its claim.
Such, too, is the opinion of his Lordship of Geneva.
Oblige me by telling our Sister, the Superior of
Moulins, that I have already written to her, as by
accident she may not have yet received my letter.
This, that I now write to you, will also serve for good
Madame du Tertre, it being all I am able for, as I
have a slight indisposition which is becoming
habitual with me. I have no other wish than that
she should be treated sweetly and cordially with all
affection as she certainly merits. But, I assure you,
Nevers was entirely her own free choice: I have
ample evidence of this in her letters. God only
knows all that has passed on this subject. Our
ioo SELECTED LETTERS OF
poor Sister Superior may have appeared somewhat
inflexible and shown how much she felt this rupture.
But, dearest brother, in consideration for her posi
tion we must throw over this fault of weakness or
surprise, the mantle of holy charity, that mantle
which bears with all, excuses all, and hides all the
defects of her children. These last lines are in
confidence for your own ear only, your goodness and
piety encouraging me to confide in you. I beseech
of you in conclusion to use all the influence at your
command in favour of peace and charity. Believe
me, I am truly indifferent to everything except the
glory of God.
I remain, Sir, very dear brother, with much
affection,
Your humble and obliged
Sister and servant in Our Lord.
XLV.
To St. Francis de Sales.
Vive >fc Jesus !
PARIS,
August, 1621.
Pray much, my incomparable Father, for the
Archbishop of Bourges,* and ask our Sisters to pray
* The Archbishop of Bourges, being one of those who
discovered the ambitious conspiracy hatched by Conde,
Governor of Berry, for which he was arrested in Sep
tember, 1616, became, upon that Prince's release several
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 101
for him. What is this storm after all in comparison
with the sufferings of Our Lord in His Passion ?
I beseech His divine Majesty, to which I have con
secrated myself, to let my brother's part in this
affair serve entirely for His glory, and I doubt not
but that it will be so. The doctor was thunder
struck when they told him that Mgr. of Bourges had
been removed and M. N. given the Archbishopric.
He speaks of nothing but the universal affection of
the people of Bourges for our good Archbishop, who
feels this blow though he has taken it in his usual
good-natured way. You who know him can under
stand how detrimental the change will be to the
poor and to the religious Houses, to both of whom
he has been such a benefactor. Our Sisters will not
be the least sufferers, for he loved them much and
was extremely good to them. A word from you
would be an immense consolation to him.
May the sweet Jesus fill your heart with His most
pure love, and may we eternally repose in Him.
Amen.
years later, the object of his special vengeance. He
obliged Mgr. Fremyot to resign his Archiepiscopal See,
assigning him in compensation the abbeys of Ferridres, and
Breteuil, and also the priory of Nogent-le-Rotrou.
102 SELECTED LETTERS OF
XLVI.
To Madame de la Flecker e.
Vive ^ J6sus !
PARIS, 1621.
Madame, I pray that God may always be your
strength, your love, and your hope, for in my little
ness I have an incomparable affection for you. Eh !
but your letters, dear, best of sisters, console me,
and yet I truly feel with you who bear the burden
of sharp and hidden sorrows. But after all, how
happy we should be to suffer such things with only
the eye of God to look upon them. Truly our crosses
ought greatly to raise our courage, seeing that by
them we attain to a union all secret with our sweet.
Master, the greatness of whose sufferings nor men
nor angels can ever conceive. Take comfort in this
thought when pain is at its height. Still, you ought
not to conceal your pain from our Blessed Father
(but I think you do not).
We can, it seems to me, so name him, as there is a
worthy ecclesiastic here who calls him the true
Father. I am sure, dearest sister, that each day he
strives after a higher perfection. Happy they who
have the example of his rare virtues before them,
but far happier they who imitate them ! God grant
us the grace to be of this number, and may my
weakness not hold me back. I shall be satisfied if
ST. JANE FRANCES DE OHANTAL 103
I follow him a hundred steps behind. I am very
glad that your sister has the comfort of staying with
you and that your son is good. May God give him
the grace to persevere, and may he root all vanity
out of your daughter's heart. Mine is very extrava
gant. It is well that she has found such a good and
prudent husband. When I see her I do my best to
make her sensible and to show her her mistake. I
recommend her to your prayers. My son is also
most extravagant, but otherwise he is brave, love-
able, and esteemed at court, where the King has
given him a very honourable past for one so young.
But all this is vanity. I value more your remem
brance of him before God than all these dignities.
He is always here, I mean with the court, or in his
garrison. I trust to the prayers of our Blessed
Father to save these children's souls, and that is all
I care about.
Adieu, dearest Sister.
XLVII.
To the Countess de Toulonjon,
Vive ^ Jesus !
PARIS, 1621.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,
The dress I am sending you is really quite
perfect and is the most beautiful that can be pro
cured. If your brother were very rich it would be
104 SELECTED LETTERS OF
a pleasure to him to pay the bill for you, but as it is
he begs of you to be satisfied with his good- will, for
he has not wherewith to pay it. Be content with
this dress, for it is handsome and quite sufficiently
stylish, and because you so long for it I want to
satisfy you. M. de Toulon j on writes that you have
not a single gown except the one you are wearing.
I cannot understand this, as during the last seventeen
months you have had four silk dresses and the
brocade costume about which you told me. What
then am I to think, I pray you, dear Francoise ?
Oh ! God bless you, my daughter; do be content and
let it be seen that you are the child of parents who
were altogether reasonable, peaceful, and constant
in their perfect affection, and this it is that I desire
for you.
I write in haste. A thousand salutations to all
your dear relatives. Do not expect your brother:
he cannot go to you, and I do not wish him to. You
have my nephew. Courage, my child, be not a silly,
frivolous girl, troubling over trifles, and letting them
take up your thoughts. Urge M. de Toulonjon to
send me the money for the dress. The amount of
the bill is, I understand, 500 livres, and I have not
got the money to pay it, so let me have it by the
first opportunity, as I do not wish to remain in debt
here.
God bless you, dearest Fran9on. I am in a great
hurry.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 105
XLVIII.
To Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre, Superior
at Montferrand.
Vive ^ Jesus !
DIJON,
May, 1622.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,
Your letter of the lyth of March is the only
one I have received; the others will no doubt come
to hand later, God willing. You must not put off
your departure beyond the date you mention. I do
wish you were here, for it certainly does delay me
not to have you. Your presence here is needed,
and as the affairs of dear Mme. de Dalet are hopeless
you had better come away as soon as ever you can.
The house of Montferrand ought to finance your
journey from the place whence you came to them,
and the house of Lyons should do likewise ; but your
coming here is hardly more than your going to
Nessy.* I shall write to the Lyons Sisters in
reference to this.
We are, thank God, poor here, yet, God be praised,
nothing is wanting to us. A widow of good family,
discreet and genial, wants to live with us as a
benefactress. She proposes giving her furniture and
2,000 crowns, besides defraying all her own expenses.
We have received two good children, and find no
* A popular name for Annecy.
lo6 SELECTED LETTERS OF
lack of aspirants for our life, but the important
thing is to be careful in our choice. In my opinion
you will be pleased with those you will find here.
Yesterday we went with Mgr. de Langres* to look
for a house. It is not easy to find a suitable one,
but Our Lord will help us. We are advised to
bide our time and to put up with the house that
adjoins this, which is sufficiently commodious for a
beginning. Moreover, to the money the good lady
(the benefactress) intends giving us she will add
sufficient to enable us to be housed here. Then
upon our leaving this house, which will be at the
end of three or four years, if not sooner, she will give
us the 2,000 crowns. Everybody agrees in thinking
this a most advantageous offer. The worst of it is
that the garden is very small: the courts are quite
suitable. Dijon is very much shut in, and it is
difficult to find a house to rent that will accom
modate us. That in which we now are is small
and has no garden or courtyard except one
hardly bigger than a table. Even as I write it
makes me laugh to think of it ; and I must tell you
besides that if we want to get a little fresh air we
have to climb on the roof. Nevertheless, we are,
thank God, as merry and as contented as we can be.
Be on your guard, my great daughter,^ against that
* Monseigneur Sebastian Zamet, Bishop of Langres, in
which diocese Dijon was situated.
t A title given to Mother Favre by St. Francis.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 107
dislike which you have of coming here. Overcome
it, I beg of you, for everybody who knows that you
are coming is delighted at the idea, and as for me,
I simply cannot tell you how I am looking forward
to it. Oh ! what a joy to see you once more for a
little while. It will do me a world of good. Who
are those timorous people who say that they must
not use terms of affection to me ? I don't agree
with them at all, neither should you. Our hearts
could not stand that.
The Archbishop of Lyons is in trouble as to who
will take you back. They have made a great fuss
about Sister . If our Cadette is removed I am
afraid that house will fail. She has never been
elected: see to this if you can at your deposition,
and don't stop longer than just to arrange about it.
Let me have news of you again before you start.
What will Mme. de Chazeron's plan come to ? I
most affectionately salute your successor. It has
always been a source of regret to me that I have not
seen your community: none the less do I love it,
and I send my warm greetings to it and to all its
good friends.
With all my heart, your affectionate,
P.S. — Ask the Sisters, I beseech you, to pray hard
and continually for my poor son till he is won back
to Our Lord.
io8 SELECTED LETTERS OF
XLIX.
To M. de Neucheze.
Vive tfa Jesus !
DIJON,
June 8, 1622.
So engrossing is Paris, my dear nephew, that if I
do not refresh your memory about your old aunt she
runs the chance of your forgetting all about her.
Yet for all that I do not think you would forget me.
I have received too many proofs of your good nature
for that. But, tell me, what are you doing in that
great Paris amidst so many honours and such
worldly luxuries ? Oh ! I beseech of you, dear child,
guard yourself vigilantly on every side, lest an undue
affection for these things take hold of you. My
God ! how I hate them all. And am I not right,
dearest nephew, since they leave no time for reflec
tion, and no desire for eternal goods ? All is
sacrificed to perishable enjoyments. For the love of
God beware of them. I would have you protect
your dear soul with a very watchful care, so that
however abundantly you possess temporal things
they may never take possession of you. Rise
quickly and holily above them all. This advice
goes to you direct from my heart, and as coming
thence I know you will receive it. Now and always
I am most affectionately desirous of obtaining for
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 109
you through the divine Goodness an abundance of
blessings, all that it is in my power to procure, that
you may enjoy God's grace in this life and in the
next His glory. These, dearest nephew, are the
wishes of her who remains always,
Your very humble aunt and servant.
P.S. — Allow me very affectionately to salute good
M. Robert Dapantor* and all your household.
Dear Sister Parisej took the habit on St. Claud's
Day. Mgr. de Langres gave it to her and performed
the whole ceremony. She sends you affectionate
messages, as does likewise the deceased^ Mother of
Bourges and all that little family of nine daughters,
[f they dared they would all beg of you respect
fully to salute on their part his Grace the
Archbishop.
* Former tutor of the young Baron de Chantal.
f Sister Marie Claire Parise was the foundress of the
Visitation Monastery at Dijon — a humble and fervent soul.
While still a secular she asked God never to permit her to
be without suffering of some kind for His love. He heard
her prayer, and her life was a continual interior martyrdom,
nevertheless joy and tranquility of soul never abandoned
her. Having with the utmost solicitude and care established
the monastery of Dijon, she was sent to Beaune, on its
foundation in 1632, and there died in the odour of
sanctity.
J A nickname given by the Saint to Sister Anne Marie
Rosset when she was deposed from the Superiorship of
Bourges.
no SELECTED LETTERS OF
L.
To Mother Anne Catherine de Beaumont, Superior of
the First Monastery of Paris.
Vive ^ Jesus !
DIJON,
$oth June, 1622.
I cannot but believe, my dearest daughter, that
there is more artifice than martyrdom about our
N., and I assure you I find it very difficult to think
otherwise. If she were reproved, or passed over,
I expect it would cure her. There will be nothing
but trouble if God does not put His hand to the
work. May His divine Goodness apply the remedy.
I enclose her letter, and my reply. What a strange
thing is this spirit of the world ! You must remain
patient and firm under its hard criticism. As
you will see by my answers all your letters have
reached me.
It certainly is a rare thing, my child, in a large
community not to find someone who is a trial, but
that so many are good is a great subject of consola
tion. For the love of God, I pray you don't imagine
that it is through your fault that others do not
advance. That is not so, thank God. They will be
very happy, my dearest daughter, if they follow
your advice, and do as you do. In a word I am of
opinion that in this (the support of feeble souls)
consists in great part the cross of poor Superiors.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL III
The strength of mind God gives you to reprimand
will be of great service to them. Persevere in
allowing nothing contrary to perfection. For zeal
combined with gentleness is of great force in anima
ting hearts, and the like of us women need to be
perpetually egged on and kept up to the mark.
I feel I must just simply tell you the truth. All
you say about yourself gives me great cause to praise
God. It is all excellent. Go always, as you now
do, to God alone. I had much consolation in reading
your letter and above all in seeing what courage
God has given you. Verily, my dear Sister, he who
loves not, he who trusts not, he who rests not wholly
in the arms of divine Providence must be hard as
flint and altogether insensible. In these arms, then,
at His mercy, let us dwell so that He may do as He
pleases with us.
I cannot tell you how grateful I feel to God for
the graces that I see and know you to have received,
and it seems to me that for this I am under a great
obligation of gratitude to Him.
Instruct, and speak continually to your daughters
of the sweet, sure, abundant mercy of God towards,
those souls who hand themselves over to Him,,
trusting Him out and out. I am very glad about
little de B. I think she will be a good child if she can
bear mortification, but the gentleness which is
practised with us will make it easy for her. Good
bye, my dearest daughter; I am truly overwhelmed
H2 SELECTED LETTERS OF
here with visits and writing. I salute all my friends
and above all our poor Sisters of Villeneuve.
Show these letters to the Rev. Father. It only
needs a little time to get the postulant away. We
must do this, and say nothing, except that as the
Chapter has not received her she cannot be kept,
and we must bear the consequences patiently. God
will direct all and you will draw profit from it. The
good Father who brings you these letters is a great
friend of our Institute, and we are under many
obligations to him.
LI.
To Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre, Superior at
Dijon.
Vive >%4 Jesus !
LYONS,
8th December, 1622.
MY OWN DEAREST DAUGHTER,
Here we are returned from our dear little
Montferrand where I certainly found excellent souls,
full of desire to advance in the perfect observance.
The poor Superior* was almost broken by the dread
of her charge; this she told me you already knew
from herself; I have left her greatly encouraged.
She truly gives me pleasure, for her judgement is
good, her aspirations are good, and she possesses an
exceedingly good appearance and manner (several
* Mother Marie Jacqueline Compain.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 113
illegible lines). My daughter, perform the Office,
I beg of you, as it is marked. These fancies pass.
His Lordship wishes us to keep up a tone not too
high, but moderate, and to sing clearly, distinctly,
and evenly : as for other faults I do not know of any,
unless some defect in pronunciation. I very much
desire that we should observe the same manner of
singing the Office in all the houses; changes I find
slip in. But for the future his Lordship will mark
how it is to be carried out, and then we have only to
keep to what is settled. At St. Etienne they drag
shockingly. By the way there is an excellent
Superior there who carries out her charge with great
discretion.* You know how exact she is, she fits
into her office admirably. I tell her that she is in
her element. Certainly all goes well in that house,
and I am delighted with it. ... Monseigneur is
here, | and we see a little of him. He does not wish
* The foundation of St. Etienne had but just been made,
and Mother Fran9oise Jeronyme de Vilette named Superior.
f " On December 8th, 1622, while King Louis XIII. was
making his state entry into Lyons amidst a great display of
pomp on the part of the two courts of France and Savoy,
St. Francis de Sales, wishing, like a true father, to enjoy the
society of his daughters, sent off all his retinue to see the
fete and came by himself to the Convent parlour. There
in the course of conversation with us he drew a contrast
between the feast which the Church that day celebrated,
and the political feast the town was keeping in honour of
the King's entry.
" Our worthy Mother de Chantal, who was present, was
overjoyed to meet again the father of her soul, but this
8
ii4 SELECTED LETTERS OF
us to leave yet; this I think is out of consideration
for the Archbishop of Bourges. Sister Marie de
Valence is also here. She is undoubtedly a most
humble and simple soul, without any constrained or
peculiar ways, and her little daughter is the same.
I pray you, my child, manage if you can to get the
letters from Madame de Puy-d'Orbe; I wish you
could help her, for she greatly needs it.
His Lordship wants us seriously to contemplate
a means of keeping the houses united. He intends
to consult the great Jesuit Fathers about it, and he
meeting was not to give her the consolation for which she
had hoped. The town was crowded with persons of
distinction, all of whom flocked to the Visitation, there to
meet ' the Sun of Prelates,' as they called St. Francis de
Sales. One day the Archbishop of Bourges and his nephew,
the Abbe de Neuchdze, the devout Sister Marie de Valence,
and Pere Cotton, S. J., all met in our parlour, so that it was
said our house was the meeting-place of all the holiest
people, and had become, so to say, a court of Heaven,
while the court of the Royal Princess was being held in the
town.
" Upon a certain day St. Francis, having some hours free,
came to the parlour to confer with the Venerable Foundress ;
but much as she wished to speak to him of her interior
state, he would not permit her to do so, deferring all that
until their return to Annecy, desiring her to visit the
Monasteries of Valence, Grenoble, and Belley before return
ing to Savoy. St. Jane Frances at once set out, never
dreaming that she had seen her blessed Father for the last
time on earth." (Taken from the " History of the Founda
tion of Lyons.") St. Francis died on the 28th of that same
onth.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 115
wishes us always to have recourse to them, for he
says no one comes up to them. I am very glad the
Father Rector likes you so much ; he has always done
so. Salute him very affectionately for me, also the
good Father Gentil, I have the highest respect for
them both. But above all do I honour with a
singular reverence and affection Mgr. de Langres.
Assure him of it, my child. When he goes to
Dijon and when I know he is there I shall write
to him.
M. Gariot is here: he will worry you with his
suggestions, but it is not necessary, I think, to do
all he wants, at least I don't : above all in the parlour,
where I cut him short ; nevertheless, my Love, have
his affairs recommended to Councillor Berbisey.
This is urgent, for he wishes to start. My good
cousin, I must tell you, is in admiration of you
(three lines illegible). He has a good heart; be
quite open with him, and with the good Sister de
Vigney, who is also very fond of you, as indeed are
all the others.
Adieu, my child, my truly amiable and dearest
daughter. God be blessed — Our Lady's Day — have
prayers said for our affairs. Salute on my behalf
all our relatives, our friends, and whoever else you
wish.
n6 SELECTED LETTERS OF
LII.
To Mother Anne Catherine de Beaumont, Superior of
the First Monastery of Paris.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1623.
MY VERY DEAR SlSTER,
It is indeed true that the privation of the
presence of my beloved Father is the greatest sorrow
I could have: for it was my priceless privilege and
my sole joy in this life. But since it has pleased God
to deprive me of it I acquiesce in His good pleasure
with all my heart, consoling myself in that I can now
say with truth: " He is my supreme and only conso
lation." Alas ! my -dearest Sister, ought not this to
be enough and even all-satisfying ? Truly that heart
is too avaricious for which God is not enough : and
miserable is the heart which is satisfied with any
thing less than God. I owe it to you, and it is my
wish to tell both you and Sister Helene-Angelique
(L'huillier), since by the goodness of God you are so
perfectly united, that this most holy soul, who in
life gave us so many perfumes of virtue, gives us
still the manifestation of them.* The greater part
* We read in the history of the foundation of Annecy:
" As soon as the blessed body (of St. Francis de Sales) had
been carried into the first Monastery, celestial perfumes
were perceived throughout the entire house, on account of
which our worthy Mother forbade the Sacristan, who alone
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 117
of the sisters here perceived numberless times and
in divers places odours so sweet and extraordinary
that we can but think it is our Blessed Father who
visits us and makes us understand by these celestial
perfumes that he is praying for us. How this
penetrates me, dearest Sister ! On Sunday I was
quite overcome, for three distinct times I was
conscious of them.
It would take too long to tell you how God is
manifesting His most humble Servant. In a word
there is much for which to thank and glorify Him.
Do so then, my daughter, whom my soul loves, and
let your gratitude be shown by faithful observance
to all we have learnt. Oh ! what honour and
happiness is comparable to that of serving in humble
and absolute submission the holy will of our good
God ! Let us only think of, only seek this glorious
eternity, for there is our Sovereign Good, with whom
we shall eternally rejoice. May He be blessed !
Yours, etc.
had in her keeping pastilles and perfumes, to use any of
them, and a like obedience she gave to all the Sisters,
forbidding them to handle or put any scented thing any
where in the house. But all these precautions only served
the better to make known the favour Our Lord had granted,
for the cloisters, corridors, choir, oratories, and other places
of the Monastery were perfumed with a most fragrant
odour, which, like a heavenly unction, spread many interior
graces upon the Community."
n8 SELECTED LETTERS OF
LIII.
To Mother Marie Helene de Chastellux, Superior at
Moulins.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1623.
Glory be to God, dearest Daughter, that this
disagreement between you and our Sisters of Nevers
has come to an end. I have known of it for a long
time. Henceforth, I conjure you, live together in
perfect and sweet union, for such was the desire of
our Blessed Father.
I shall write to our Sister the Superior of Paris,
and if she can leave you the dowry of Sister M.
Marguerite I am sure she will do so, for she is no
lover of money, but justice must be maintained.
For God's sake keep far from you all desire of
being well off. Love poverty and God will make
you abound in true riches: this is the spirit of our
Blessed Father. He could not tolerate any eager
ness in us for temporal goods, or that we should be
solicitous at all about them. It consoled him to see
souls love and esteem poverty. Surely it is but
reasonable that we who are vowed to it should no
longer hold dear the riches we have renounced.
And it is with the great Master that this contract
has been made. Oh ! my daughter, be not angry
with me for speaking thus. I do not accuse you
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 119
of this evil, but I speak because I have an extreme
desire to see holy poverty honoured and cherished
amongst us, and my heart's wish is that every soul
in the Institute should love it.
0 Jesu ! never burden yourself, daughter dearest,
with girls who have no religious vocation, nor fitting
dispositions for our manner of life. After having
exercised charity for some months towards this girl,
if God does not truly touch her heart and if she does
not genuinely desire to be a Religious, you ought in
all humility to ask these gentlemen, her relations,
to take her away : for how does it look, I pray you,
to keep girls in the convent who are simply boarders
and must have their meals apart ? Certainly,
daughter, this must not be done, and I feel confident
that Sister Marie Aimee (de Morville) is too good-
hearted not to help this girl to overcome herself,
and send her to eat with the community while she is
with you. My God, how we must guard ourselves
against this miserable world, and take every pre
caution, lest its spirit enter into our monasteries.
May God in His mercy preserve us from it !
1 have the greatest aversion to this title Mere
ancienne, because it is against the Rule and there
fore against the spirit of our Blessed Father. You
will see a little reference to it in the last conference
he gave at Lyons. I should like to see our Sisters
hold in such reverence his memory, and the Rule,
that in comparison to them they could give no
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thought at all to their own silly fancies and inclina
tions, and I am sure Sister Jeanne Charlotte (de
Brechard) would agree with me, as she ought to in
this. Alack ! what honour is there in such things ?
Rather is honour to be found in perfect observance.
I am very sorry for poor Sister M. Catherine (Chariel),
but she ought to be faithful to the exercises, in as
much, at least, as depends on herself, by the exterior
observance of them, and she should refuse to consent
to those evil reflections, resisting them with the
sword of the spirit. This much God has put in our
power, and never can we fall except by our own
will. If she is faithful to this, God will be satisfied,
but she must submit herself absolutely. I will
write to her.
Be most careful to let no coolness exist between
you and the Jesuit Fathers, and give them no excuse
for keeping away from you. Our Blessed Father
would not have approved of it. Soon, please God,
you will see in the Directory what he said to me at
Lyons on this point. Recall them gently, daughter,
and give them your former confidence. Although
the good Father you mention did not take the
matter rightly the Jesuits are too wise and too good
to keep up a grudge against us.
I think I know Pere de Geney, if it is the same; he
is a very good Religious in whom you can confide.
Converse in a trustful spirit with them all, but above
all with the Jesuits and their Rector. He spoke the
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 121
truth to you in saying that the Sisters are satisfied
and feel the improvement. Keep your courage ever
higher, my most dear daughter, and always, I
beseech you, govern in a spirit of extreme gentleness.
Look sometimes at the advice I give to Superiors,
and although I am worthless Our Lord has allowed
Himself to speak through me in this. May He be
blessed for ever !
If Sister M. Charlotte (de Feu) is eighteen or
twenty let her in the name of God follow the com
munity, and if on that account she suffers somewhat
she will be very happy. At least do not let her be
the judge of her own needs, and she should submit
herself to you. Give her plenty to do, and then be
at her side to help her. You ought not to have sent
out that letter that you did not understand, though
it is true when written to one of ourselves there is
less danger.
Bear with the old woman, I beg of you, and you
will gain her to God. I rather prefer your writing
during recreation than in the evening. I do this,
and in the midst of our Sisters. Get Sister Jeanne
Charlotte or someone else to help you in this, and
write little except to our monasteries; but you
should read a good quarter of an hour every evening
after Matins, for this will be useful to you. We
should wear ourselves out in the service of our
neighbour, and doing so we shall be happy.
Certainly, daughter, the dormitory ought not to be
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made into an infirmary: if doing otherwise gives a
little more trouble to the sisters they will have all
the more merit. Alas ! my God, the poor have far
more than this to put up with. Our Blessed Father's
maxim was to refuse no inconvenience, and to ask
for no relief, yet if relief was given him he accepted
it. Oh, daughter, great courage is needed to seek
God alone, bearing all for love of Him.
I am a little surprised to have no news of Sister
Jeanne Charlotte, and Sister Marie Aim6e. Had I
time I would send them a note to waken them up,
and assure them that I belong to them, but for this
time give them my message and tell them that I
wrote to them when I was at Moulins the last time,
at least to the elder sister. May God in His goodness
hold you in His holy hand. I am devoted to you
more than I could ever put into words. God be
Blessed !
I salute all our sisters, especially Sister Assistant,
for whom I have a great affection, but I wish she
would write to me once more, then I would answer
her fully. It is because I have not had time that I
have not done so. God be Blessed !
P.S. — It has occurred to me that I ought to send
you the first sheet of the Directory — all that is yet
out — in which is set down how the Office ought to
performed on the great feasts of our Lord. His
Lordship will be satisfied at its being performed in
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 123
this manner. The change must be effected quietly
and imperceptibly. Our Sisters are very much
pleased with it.
LIV.
To Sister Marie Marguerite Milletot at Dijon.
Vive >J« Jesus !
ANNECY, 1623.
MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,
Do not be astonished at seeing yourself
surrounded by spiritual enemies; only guard your
heart so that they may not enter. But I know you
would die a thousand times over rather than let
them do so. Remain then in peace and patience,
awaiting your deliverance by our good Saviour, and
He will free you sooner than you think. This trial
is, dearest daughter, hard to bear, but believe me if
you had any other you would find it equally so.
This life is only given us to combat. Every one has
his own cross. Oh God ! how heavy is the burden
to me of my own extreme misery and of my own
infidelities ! May the good God deliver me from
myself ! Be brave, daughter dearest, he who does
not conquer shall never be crowned. I beseech the
divine Goodness to strengthen you in this combat.
Pray to the good God for
Your humble and unworthy Mother.
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LV.
To Sister Fran^oise Caspar de de la Grave* Assistant
to the Superior at Belley.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1623.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,
Do you know that these fears and self-tortur-
ings about your past confessions are pure tempta
tions of the devil ? Make a firm stand and take no
heed of them, dear daughter, for the devil is only
trying in his malice to deceive you. Bear with his
attacks and the suffering that comes of them gently
and humbly, submitting to the good pleasure of God,
who permits them to test your fidelity and confi-
* Sister Fran£oise-Gasparde de la Grave, professed of the
first Monastery of Annecy in 1617, was specially loved and
trained by St. Francis de Sales, and always showed herself
worthy of her great master. She was chiefly remarkable
for her calm and unalterable sweetness in the midst of the
contradictions of all kinds with which she was surrounded.
" My Blessed Father has taught me," she would say on
such occasions, " that the love of one's own abjection ought
never to be one step distant from our hearts." She was
successively Superior at Belley, Bourges, and Perigueux,
from which last house she contributed to the foundation at
Tulle. Having governed the Monastery of Seyssel for three
years, she returned to the house of her profession, where
she died in 1638. After her decease they found she had
carefully written down all the humiliating things that had
ever been said to her. On the corner of this packet was
written: " The enclosed are to perfume my heart with the
precious odour of humiliation,"
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 125
dence. Pay no regard to anything the tempter
suggests. Never let your mind argue about it; but
suffer it without yielding consent. Throw yourself
upon the mercy of the divine Mercy. Leave to it
the care of your salvation and of everything regard
ing you. Tell God that you have entire trust in His
goodness, and although it may seem to you that you
have not any, never cease to assure Him that you
have, and always will have with the assistance of
His grace. This I command you to do. And bear
patiently the burden without desiring to be delivered
from it; for that would be a brave sort of virtue
which never wished to be attacked, and a grand
fidelity that which would surrender at the first
approach of the enemy ! Remain firm without
wishing ever to confess past sins a second time, or
ever swerving from your duty of patience and con
fidence in God : and you will see how God draws His
glory and your good out of this temptation, for
which may He in His infinite goodness be blessed.
LVI.
To Mgr. the Bishop of Autun.
Vive ^ Jesus !
MY LORD, ANNECY, 1623.
I have heard of your kindness to our poor
Sisters of Moulins in regard to the difficulties they
have had with their Foundress, and that by the
grace of God you and your Council, recognizing the
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true virtue and uprightness of the Superior and of
her Religious, gave them protection and comfort in
their extreme affliction. But, my Lord, from what
I learn, they at the present moment need more than
ever your paternal assistance, and I humbly beg
your Lordship in the name of our good God to help
them. If, in order to restore tranquility in their
monastery, it is only necessary to return the money
to our good Sister Foundress, so that she may live
elsewhere, certainly we shall be content to do so,
for we love better to live poorly and keep our
observance than to abound in riches and be thwarted
in it. The Providence of God will never fail us as
long as we persevere in fidelity to His holy service;
and our delight is, under its protection, to live in
poverty. See, my Lord, how I lay my sentiments
before you in all simplicity. If, however, our Sister
the Foundress continues to enjoy the happiness she
possesses I shall rejoice provided she content herself
with the privileges which you, my Lord, have either
confirmed or granted her, and for the rest that she
live as is fitting to her condition.
Beseeching you my Lord, very humbly and with
all earnestness to provide help for these good
servants of God, and trusting that through your
kindness and piety the divine mercy may come to
their aid, I pray God to spread in abundance His
holy benedictions upon you and your Church.
I remain, with humble reverence, etc
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 127
LVII.
To Sister Anne Marie Rosset, Assistant and Mistress
of Novices at Dijon.
Vive >J< Jesus !
ANNECY, 1623.
You know and you can never doubt how truly you
are my dearest daughter. Lay claim to this title
more and more by your charity in praying for me.
Indeed, my daughter, this dear Mother (Favre) is a
soul of true virtue. She is all for God, for the Rule,
and for me. I hope you will always continue to
feel that you have a faithful friend in her. The
spirit of religion and even religion itself is destroyed
by preoccupation about miserable human affections.
If the intelligence of the Sisters be not clouded by
them nor by self-love they will see the guidance of
God over this soul, and through her over other souls,
and will themselves be established in solid virtue.
Keep the spirit of your novices at a high level and
do it with vigour. Engrave in their hearts this
maxim, that the love of their divine Saviour is the
only love for them, and that in Him they must love
their neighbour according to the order of duty and
true charity. Oh God ! what should we seek on
earth or aspire to in heaven save Thee who art our
portion and our eternal inheritance ? My daughter,
a Religious of the Visitation who should attach
herself to anything whatsoever but God is not
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worthy of her vocation. Make this very clear to
our Sisters. Each one must have a holy zeal to
attain eternal life by the path which God has
marked out for her. If our Sisters really love their
holy Founder they will prove it not only by the
attention and pleasure with which they read his
writings, for all the world delights in them, but also
by faithfully carrying out his teachings. That in
comparable love and sweetness towards their neigh
bour, that profound humility and lowliness of which
he was so great a lover, and which put him at enmity
with all ostentation, should above all be practised by
them. Finally, let them make theirs the glorious gift
he enjoyed of devout attention to the presence of God.
My daughter, see that the spiritual exercises are
held in great esteem by the novices. Bring this
about: for prayer, recollection, and frequent ejacu-
latory prayer are the oil of benediction in
monasteries Give good books to those dear novices
to read, so that their minds may be filled with
profitable food wherewith to make useful reflection,
and to undeceive themselves as to the value of the
false maxims of the world. Make them value
thoroughly the acts and exercises of their Directory,
so that their memory being well stored with spiritual
things, and their understanding well enlightened,
our divine Master will (as I hope) soon warm their
wills with His holy love.
Your devoted.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 129
LVIII.
To the Rev. Father Dom John de Saint Francois,
General of the Order of Feuillants.
ON ST FRANCIS DE SALES.*
Vive ^ Jesus !
1624.
Alas ! my Rev. Father, you command me to do
what is beyond my capacity. The intimate know
ledge that God has permitted me to acquire of the
interior life of my blessed Father and Lord, and
especially that with which He has favoured me since
this holy man's decease (for the object being present
somewhat, it seems to me, obscured the light), is, I
feel, altogether beyond my deserts : and I confess to
you quite frankly that I have no facility whatever
in expressing myself. Yet to obey your Reverence
and for the love and respect which I owe to the
authority by which you command, I will write what
comes to my mind in all simplicity, in the presence
of God.
First, then, I have always observed in him the
perfect gift of faith accompanied with great clear
ness, certitude, perception, and extreme suavity.
It was a subject upon which he spoke admirably,
and he once told me that God had bestowed upon
him much light and knowledge of the mysteries of
* This letter is taken from " Sainte Jeanne-Frar^oise
Fremyot de Chantal: Sa Vie et ses (Euvres," Vol. II.
9
130 SELECTED LETTERS OF
our holy faith, and he thought that he had a good
grasp of the correct interpretation of the Church's
teachings to her children. To this his life and
writings bear witness.
God had so fully illuminated this holy soul, or, as
he put it, shed so clear a light in the highest point
of his soul, that he had, so to say, but to open the
eyes of his spirit and the excellencies of the truths
of faith lay before him, and from this proceeded
raptures, ecstacies, and celestial ardours. He sub
mitted himself to the truths thus unveiled to him by
a simple yielding up of his will, and the place wherein
these illuminations were centred he called " The
Sanctuary of God." It was his place of retreat, his
every day abode, for notwithstanding continual
exterior occupation he held his spirit in this interior
solitude as much as was possible. The one longing,
the sole aspiration and desire of this holy man, it
always seemed to me, was to live by faith and
according to the maxims of the Gospel. He used to
say that the true way to serve God was to follow Him
and walk in His footsteps by the pure light of grace,
without the support of consolations, of feeling, of
light, other than that of bare faith, and for this
reason he valued derelictions, desolation, and dry-
ness of spirit. He never stopped, he said, to think
whether or no he had consolations, and that if Our
Lord sent them he received them in simplicity; if
they were not given him he made no reflections about
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 131
their loss. But as a matter of fact he usually had
great sensible sweetness, as was betrayed by his
countenance, however slightly he withdrew into
himself, which he was in the habit of doing. Thus
did he draw good out of all things, turning all
to the profit of his soul. The time of preparation
for his sermons, which he usually spent walking
about, was one of special illumination for him.
Study, he said, provided him with prayer, and he
came from it enlightened and full of holy affections.
Several years ago he told me that he had no sen
sible devotion in prayer, and that God operated in
him without feeling, but by sentiments and illu
minations, which were diffused in the intellectual
part of his soul, the inferior part having no share
therein. These were for the most part perceptions
and sensibilities of simple unity and heavenly
emotions which he did not try to fathom: for his
practice was to hold himself in humility and lowli
ness before God with the trustful reverence of a
loving child.
When writing to me he has often asked me to
remind him when we met to tell me what God had
given him in prayer. When I did so he would say,
" These things are so impalpable, so pure, so intan
gible, that one cannot explain them when they have
passed, only their effects remain in the soul."
For several years before his decease there was
left him little leisure for prayer, as business over-
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whelmed him, and one day when I asked him if he
had any time for prayer, he said: " No, but I do
what is the same." In such wise he held himself
always united to God, saying that in this life work
and labour are prayer. And most certainly his life
was a continual prayer. Though, from what has
been said, it is easy to believe that the delightful
union of his soul with God in prayer was not his
only enjoyment. Oh ! indeed it was not, for how
ever the will of God was presented to him he equally
loved it. And in his last years he had, I believe,
attained such purity in his love that all things were
the same to him so long as he saw God's will in
them. There was nothing in the world, as he used
to say, that could give him any satisfaction out of
God. Thus he lived, as was manifest to those who
knew him, no more in himself but truly Jesus Christ
lived in him. This universality in his love of the
will of God was the more excellent and the purer by
reason of the clear light which God diffused in his
soul, and because of it his soul was neither subject
to change nor to deception, and by it he perceived
in himself the first movements of self-love which he
faithfully suppressed the more perfectly to be united
to God. He told me, that, sometimes in the depth
of his greatest afflictions, he felt consolations beyond
comparison more sweet than at ordinary times, for
by means of this intimate union with God things
most bitter became to him most sweet.
But, if your Reverence wishes to see clearly the
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 133
state of this holy soul on these points, read, if you
please, the three or four last chapters in the " Divine
Love."* All his actions were animated with the
sole motive of pleasing God, and truly (as he says in
this sacred book) he asked nought of heaven nor of
earth but to see the will of God accomplished. How
many times has he not repeated over to me those
words of David: " O ! Lord, what have I in heaven,
and besides Thee what do I desire on earth ? Thou
art my portion and my eternal inheritance " He
lived on the principle that what was not God was
nothing to him. His eminent virtue and that
universal indifference which was remarked in him
by all were the product of this perfect union. I
never read those chapters which treat of it in the
ninth book of " Divine Love " without seeing clearly
that as occasions arose he practised what he taught.
That admirable but little known maxim, Ask for
nothing, desire nothing, refuse nothing, which he
faithfully carried out to the very end of his life,
could not originate with one who was not entirely
indifferent and dead to self. In regard to his
actions such incomparable equality of mind did he
possess that there was no changeableness in his
attitude. He unquestionably felt keen resentment
when subjected to rudeness or insult, above all
when God was offended, or his neighbour oppressed ;
but on such occasions, as is mentioned in his memoirs,
he exercised complete self-control and would retire
* The treatise on the Love of God.
±34 SELECTED LETTERS OP
into himself with God and remain silent. Yet he
none the less set to work, and that promptly, to
remedy the evil, for he was the refuge, the succour,
the support of all.
Because he had acquired a perfect mastery of his
passions, there reigned in his soul complete sub
mission to God, and in his heart an imperturbable
peace. "What is there that could disturb our
peace ?" he said to me at Lyons. " When all is in
confusion around me it does not trouble me, for
what is all the world besides in comparison with
peace of heart ?" This power was the outcome of his
intense and virile faith, for he regarded all things,
the least and the greatest, as ordained by that
divine Providence in which he reposed with more
tranquility than a child on its mother's bosom. He
used to say that Our Lord taught him this lesson
from his youth, and that, if he could be born again
he would despise human prudence more than ever,
and would let himself be still more entirely governed
by divine Providence. He had very great illumina
tion on this subject, and conveyed it forcibly to the
souls he counselled and governed. All the under
takings God committed to him he placed under the
protection of this supreme government, and never
was he more certain of an affair or more content
amidst vicissitudes than when he had no other
support than God. On the contrary, when human
prudence foresaw the impossibility of the execution
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 135
of a design his firm confidence in God alone remained
unshaken. Therefore did he live without solicitude.
I remarked this to him when he had made up his
mind to establish our Congregation, and he replied:
" I have no light as to how to do it, but I am sure
that God will do it " ; and so it came about, and that
far more quickly than he anticipated. Speaking of
this confidence in God, I remember once many years
ago, when attacked with a violent temptation, which
he bravely resisted, he wrote to me: "I feel very
much under its pressure. It seems to me that I
have no strength to resist and that I should succumb
if the occasion were presented to me, but the weaker
I feel the more do I trust in God, and I assure myself
that were the object to present itself, I should be
invested with the power of God, and that my
enemies would be as lambkins before me."
Our Saint was not exempt from the stirrings of
passions nor did he wish nor think it desirable to be
so. Except for the purpose of governing and check
ing them, which he said gave him pleasure, they
were disregarded by him; and he looked upon them
as excellent opportunities for practising virtue and
establishing it more solidly in the soul. His own
were so absolutely under his control that they obeyed
him as slaves, and in the end hardly showed them
selves at all. His was a manifestly bold and generous
soul, very dear Father, strong to bear burdens and
responsibilities and to carry out the undertakings
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with which God inspired him. Nothing, as he said,
could induce him to abandon these ; not an inch
would he abate, and he had a courage that conquered
all difficulties.
Certainly such perseverance as his, required
wonderful strength of mind, for who has ever seen
him out of humour, or losing one iota of self-control ?
Who has ever seen his patience ruffled or his soul
embittered against any one whomsoever ? and all
because he had a guileless heart.
That he was gentle, humble, and gracious none
could fail to remark. His mind was clearer, freer,
and broader than any other I have come in contact
with; the prudence and the wisdom natural and
supernatural with which God had endowed him
were excellent and solid.
Our Lord indeed forgot nothing in perfecting His
work. " Charity," as he says, " entering into a
soul brings with it every other virtue sweetly and
unostentatiously in the degree and measure by
which charity animated it." He made no mysteries,
and did nothing that might excite admiration; there
was no singularity about him, no display of great
virtue to exalt him in the eyes of the vulgar. He
walked the common way, but in so supernatural a
manner that it seemed to me that of all to be admired
in his life this was the most admirable trait. He
had no affected ways, neither casting up his eyes
nor closing them, but he kept them modestly
ST. JANE FRANCES £>E CHANfAL
lowered and made no unnecessary gestures. His
face, passive, sweet, and grave, portrayed the pro
found tranquility within.
Whoever observed his outward bearing was un
failingly impressed. Whether at prayer, reciting
the office, or saying Mass, his countenance shone
with angelic splendour, but it was above all at the
consecration of the Mass that it seemed to radiate.
This has been remarked to me a thousand times.
He had a special devotion to this adorable Sacra
ment. It was his true life, his sole strength, and
when carrying it in Procession he looked like one on
fire with love. As his outpourings of love when
before the Divine Sacrament, and his wonderful
devotion to our Lady are treated of elsewhere I will
not speak of them here.
Oh, how worthy of admiration was the order with
which God had endowed this blessed soul ! so much
was it under the control of reason, so calm, and so
lucid the light shed by God within it that absolutely
nothing passed therein that was hidden from him.
So clear was his view in regard to perfection of
spirit that he could distinguish between the most
subtle and intangible sensibilities, and never willingly
would he tolerate the less perfect in his soul; his
burning love could not suffer it. It was not that he
did not commit some imperfections, but they were
always from frailty or pure surprise, and I never
knew him to leave in his heart one single attachment,
138 SELECTED LETTERS OP
however small, that was contrary to perfection.
Purer than the sun, whiter than the snow in every
act, resolve, and desire, he was united to God not
only by his purity, but in humility and simplicity.
To hear him speak of God and of perfection was a
delight, for his terms were precise and intelligible,
so that they easily brought home to the understand
ing the high and subtle points of the spiritual life
and this great gift he used for the guidance of souls.
Reading the depths of their hearts and clearly seeing
the motives from which they acted, he guided and
governed them with a skill other than that of this
world. His indefatigable charity for souls is well
known, and the incomparable delight with which he
laboured amongst sinners, never resting till he had
put the conscience in peace and set the soul on its
way to heaven. What care did he not bestow upon
the weak and repentant sinner, making himself one
with him, weeping together with him over his sins,
and becoming so one in heart with his penitent that
none could conceal anything from him.
Zeal for the salvation of souls was, I consider, his
dominant virtue, and in a sense it may be said that
he preferred the service of his neighbour, for whom
he wore himself out, to the immediate service of
God. His charity was regulated in a remarkable
manner, for he loved the many souls for whom he
had a special regard, and they were great in number,
not equally yet perfectly, and purely, recognizing
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 139
the most estimable virtue and the measure of grace
in each and giving it place accordingly in his regard.
While to all he bore the utmost respect because he
saw God in his neighbour and him in God, yet his
humility never prevented him from reverencing the
dignity of his position as Bishop, and with what
gravity and majesty he bore himself in it.
I now venture to repeat what so many persons
have said to me — that when they saw this man it
seemed to them that they looked upon Our Lord on
earth. And to me he always appeared the living
picture in which the Son of God, Our Lord, was
portrayed, for most truly the order and economy of
his soul was divine.
I remain, my Reverend Father,
Your very humble, obedient, and unworthy
daughter and servant in Our Lord,
SISTER JANE FRANCES FR£MYOT
(Of the Visitation of Holy Mary).
LIX.
To a Religious of the First Monastery of the
Visitation at Paris.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1625.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,
The wings of this little butterfly that thrusts
itself out into the light before its time need to be
clipped; otherwise it will come to destruction. And
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in like manner, my daughter, as soon as you perceive
your mind taking these high nights you must bring
it down to the foot of the crucifix by a profound but
gentle act of humility, holding yourself there all
confused and abashed. Your doing this will put an
end to the trouble. Walk simply, my daughter,
and you will walk happily. Crush self-love, stamp
it out; and with it self-esteem. Let true humility
take its place, that humility which always and in all
circumstances aims at oblivion and at being under
the feet of all. This lesson is a difficult one, but
God invites you to the practice of it. Follow His
will and His example and He will lead you on until
you attain that perfection to which His Providence
has called you. Strive to keep your thoughts off
yourself, and never scrutinize what is passing within
you. Let this truth dwell in your heart and have
it always before your mind that whatever little good
there may be in you is from God, and that there
fore you have no right to take pride in it, nor to
think any the better of yourself because of it.
Remember that of yourself you are mere nothing
ness, possessing only the abjection of your sins and
of your countless imperfections. And bearing this
in mind, welcome contempt and all that kills pride.
Make use for this end of that thought of yours that
the Sisters may very justly think you to be full of
self-love and self-esteem, or of any other such
humiliating reflection. Desire to be employed in
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 141
low and abject things. Not that you should seek
them, but that you be always disposed willingly to
accept them. Beg your good Mother to help you to
acquire this dear virtue of humility, without, how
ever, asking for anything in particular ; for to choose
would spoil everything. If you do all this you will
find the source of true life, and if you do it not, you
will never have any peace nor be able to correspond
to your vocation and to the designs of God over you. I
beseech His Goodness to grant you this precious grace.
Yours, etc.
LX.
To the Countess de Toulonjon.
Vive ^ Jesus !
CHAMBERY, 1625.
Not as soon as I thought, my dearest daughter,
shall we have the pleasure of seeing Mgr. of Bourges,
and indeed it will be a very great pleasure. Ever
since he was cured of his illness and received the
other graces which Our Lord has bestowed upon
him I feel drawn to him by a peculiar appreciation :
and neither do I wish to cease, nor can I cease, from
praising and thanking our good God for His great
mercy to him. Although he frequently writes to
me he has made no allusion in any of his letters to
what you tell me he has done for my son.* I will
* Madame de Toulonjon having learnt that her uncle,
the Archbishop of Bourges, had made his will in favour of her
brother, the Baron de Chantal, and left her out, was deeply
142 SELECTED LETTERS OF
speak to him about it when I have the honour of
meeting him, and see if I cannot have the good
fortune of obtaining from him something to your
advantage. He always appears to me to have a
great affection for you, but I do not think he has
much in the way of temporal goods beyond the
furniture of his house. However, I know little about
this. But my good and dearest daughter, even if
this good lord has altogether forgotten you, why
on that account give way to sorrow and resentment ?
Oh ! cease to do so, my daughter, for you might offend
God by it. You are too much attached to the
things of this life and take them too much to heart.
What have you to fear ? Is it that the fact of
having so many children deprives you of the means
of providing for and educating them according to
their birth and your ambition ? Have no such
apprehensions, I beg of you, for in this you wrong
the Providence of Him who gives them to you, and
who is good enough and rich enough to nourish them
and provide for them as is expedient to His glory
and their salvation. That is all that we should
desire for our children, and not look for worldly
prosperity in this miserable and mortal life.
Now my dearest daughter, lovingly look upon all
these little creatures as entrusted to you by God,
wounded at this proceeding, and when writing to her holy
Mother had justified herself for her anxieties by alleging
the obligation to provide for the future of her children.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 143
who has given them to you; care for them, cherish
them tenderly, and bring them up not in vanity, but
faithfully in the fear of God. So doing, and trust
fully leaving all these anxieties of yours to divine
Providence, you will see how sweetly and tenderly
it will provide for all, so that you will have good
reason to bless and rely wholly upon it. Take my
advice, dearest daughter, and cast yourself into these
safe arms: serve God, cast aside vanity, live in
perfect harmony with him whom God has given you,
interest yourself in the good government of your
household, be active and diligent in applying your
self to that work, and begin from this time forth to
live after the manners and customs of a true mother.
If I had not had the courage to do this from the
beginning in my married life we should not have had
the means of livelihood, for we had a smaller income
than you have and were fifteen thousand crowns in
debt. Be brave then, dearest daughter; employ
your time and your mind not in worrying and being
anxious about the future, but in serving God and
your household, for such is the divine will. Act thus,
and you will see how blessings will attend your under
takings. I feel that I am bound to speak thus fully
and openly to you, and I hope that you will profit by
what I say, for I say it with much love and with a
great desire for your good; and that you will often
read over this letter and put its contents in practice.
May God grant you this grace, and may His Goodness
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pour abundantly upon you and your dear family
His choicest blessings. I cordially salute them all.
You know, dearest child, how you are my very own
and most dear daughter, and that I am your very
humble mother, most lovingly desirous of your true
happiness.
LXI.
To Sister Anne Catherine de Sautereau, Mistress oj
Novices at Grenoble.
Vive >J< Jesus !
ANNECY, 1626.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,
I will do as you desire and in God's presence
will write what He in His Goodness inspires me to
say. I am praying that I may do this. First, then,
it seems to me, my daughter, that in your devotion
you should strive to be generous, noble, frank and
sincere, and build upon a groundwork of profound
humility which engenders true obedience, sweet
charity, and that artless simplicity that makes us
amiable to every one alike, bearing with and excusing
all. Try to instil this same spirit into your novices
and into all the souls that God may at any time put
under your care.
On the other hand, dearest daughter, you must
leave yourself wholly in the hands of God, so that
your dear soul and the souls of those you guide, may
be, as far as you can make them, independent of all
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 145
that is not God; aiming straight and with such
singleness of purpose that friendships, looks, words
may never be wasted in frivolous amusement with
creatures. By walking in the perfect way of exact
observance of the rules of the Institute, all impedi
ments are left behind on the road and not given a
thought; for in all things the eye of God only, that
is, His divine good pleasure, is considered. This is a
road without bypaths, daughter, but it is solid, short,
simple, and safe, and by it the soul quickly attains
to a rare union with God which is her end. Let us
then faithfully pursue this way. Truly it cuts short
multiplicity and leads us to that unity which is the
one thing necessary. I know that you are attracted
to this happiness. Give yourself up to it, then, and
you will repose quite at your ease in the bosom of
divine Providence; for souls who cast aside every
aim and end but that of pleasing God are bound to
dwell in peace in this tabernacle.
Abraham (I do love this patriarch) left his country
and his family to obey God, but, my daughter
dearest, the only Son of God accomplished the will
of His heavenly Father by remaining in the country
of his birth and working there. * Be satisfied, then,
to imitate the Saviour, for no perfection can equal
His. And do not look elsewhere, but apply your
self with diligence to do lovingly and cheerfully the
* Sister Anne Catherine de Sautereau was a native of
Grenoble.
10
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works that Providence and obedience put into your
hands. The chief exercises of the novitiate are
mortification and prayer. I have said enough, and
perhaps too much, to one whom God Himself en
lightens and directs. I pray His Goodness to bring
your spirit to the perfection of His most pure love.
Your soul is endeared to me more than I can tell you.
Rest assured of this and pray for her who is wholly
37ours in Our Lord. God be praised !
LXII.
To Mother Anne Catherine de Beaumont, Superior
of the First Monastery of Paris.
Vive t%4 Jesus !
ANNECY,
Jan. 6, 1626.
Praise be to our Good God ! I assure you, my
very dear daughter, that it has been a great conso
lation to me to read your letter and to see the state
of your good heart, in which I perceive the divine
Goodness diffuses many holy and profitable lights
which you turn to good account. These thoughts
are worthy of being noted; they are beautiful, and
are great graces from the divine mercy. And so is
this diversity of states in which you continually find
yourself, for it holds the soul more detached and
more simply united to its God in whom all its happi
ness consists. I see also that suffering is not wanting
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 147
to you. Suffering is the crucible in which Our Lord
wishes entirely to purify you. Your interior corre
spondence ought wholly to consist in a simple hand
ing over of yourself, in a complete self-surrender;
then for the exterior, humility, submissiveness and
meekness. And I beseech you, even if interior
lights superabound, not to fail to seek counsel,
preferring the opinions of others to your own, in as
far as it is possible. This is one of the chief fruits
of that most holy humility which should inspire
all our actions. Indeed, had your letter been as
long again it would only have been all the more
welcome to me. May God give me the grace to
draw profit from it ! Although in my unworthiness
I cannot walk by so high and excellent a way, still,
I hope that it will do me good.
I am very glad that you have received those
two good subjects, and I thank you with all my
heart for our little Adrienne. It is quite true that
our dear Mgr. Bourges grows daily in piety and
devotion, which, methinks, must be real because
there is so much humility, meekness of heart, and
detachment from the things of earth about it. We
shall pray very specially for good M. de N. He is a
person whom I always look up to, and so I do to the
Rev. Father Superior. I send them both my
respectful salutations. Hold yourself very humble,
my dearest daughter, and think yourself very un
worthy of the graces of God: for this little holding
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back will draw them on you all the more. I pray
His Goodness daily to increase these graces in your
soul, which I love more than I can express.
LXIII.
To the Same.
Vive &4 Tesus !
ANNECY,
2Sth Jan., 1626.
I see quite well, good dear daughter, that nothing
will satisfy that heart of yours unless you make
clear to me the holy affection it has for my miserable
little heart, and I reciprocate your love to a degree
that I cannot express. Oh God ! what will it be to
love each other with a love that is ever present and
beyond all earthly love, for such is the gift the great
Lover of our souls will bestow on us ! Let us try,
my daughter, to grow in this divine love from moment
to moment. Alas ! I desire it, but you — you
possess it. For this may God be praised and also
for the good order of your house, which our dear
Father M. Vincent* tells me is a matter worthy of
great thanskgiving and consolation.
Believe me, it is a true delight to me to know
that our Rules are so faithfully kept. Now observe
from this how Mother Superiors should see that the
Rule is carried out in regard to Ecclesiastical
* St. Vincent de Paul.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 149
Superiors, and how the Mothers themselves should
faithfully observe what is prescribed for them, so
that by example we may instruct and strengthen
those whom God has committed to our care. Pray
continually, I beg of you, for our dear Father, Dom
Juste, and for the affair of the Beatification of our
Blessed Father. Our Holy Father the Pope has
issued a Decree about beatifications which causes
me some apprehension.* But in all things we must
conform our wills to that of God.
Yours, etc.
LXIV.
Mother Marie Adrienne Picket, Superior at Ritmilly.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1626.
MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,
The letters I receive from your Sisters
Councillors are the greatest comfort to me, for they
bear witness to the union and content that reigns
between you and them. If you practice all you
teach, there is every reason that this should not
only continue but increase. Let the old feel that
you are satisfied with them, treating them with
cordial love, respect and confidence. Be one in
* The fears of St. Jane Frances were not without cause,
for the popular enthusiasm occasioned by the many
miracles wrought through the intercession of the holy
Bishop resulted in many ex voto offerings and much public
worship being paid to his remains, all of which was for
bidden by the Decree, pending the decision of the Church,
150 SELECTED LETTERS OF
heart with them as true sisters ought to be; for
although they should honour and obey you as their
Mother, still, you ought to treat them as sisters and
companions. And to the young be as a benign
mother with her daughters, not pressing them too
much unless it be to encourage them in a loving way.
What I am writing is in reference to your last letter,
in which you tell me that you often say they must
be open with you. My dear daughter, you must
lead them to this openness by kindness and en
couragement; for the spirit of the Visitation is one
of gentleness, and this must be preserved at all costs,
else yours would not be a Visitation house even
though all the rest of the Rules should be observed,
for this, the most important of our characteristics
would be wanting. Let then this holy gentleness
with every one be your chief care. Retiring and
tranquil in all your undertakings, carry them out
prudently so that God may be glorified by your
intercourse with those outside the monastery and by
the sweetness of your government with those within.
You are aware that your natural disposition needs
bridling and that you must keep it in check. Do
this then for God and you will receive all manner of
graces. Keep near the good God and read carefully
your Rules, for He wishes that in the charge He has
committed to you you should become a living Rule,
to His sovereign glory.
I had not thought of saying all this to you, but as
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 151
I write God has put it into my mind. Profit by it
then, my very dear daughter, and let this letter
serve you for a long time and for always, as I am
sure my good Angel and yours have dictated it. If
you saw my heart and its keen affection for your
welfare, you would indeed love me.
For the rest, his Lordship bids me take our Sisters
into Lorraine. If I can manage it, and that he
approves, I'll go a little out of my way to see you.
I send you some relics of our holy Father. Madame
Garbillon seems inclined to take her daughter to you
herself after Easter. There are still plenty of others,
but we shall try to send you those who are fairly
well off. However, you will be obliged to floor your
dormitory in order to accommodate so many sub
jects. See to this in good time so as to have in the
necessary planks and wood. Also have the garden
wall raised a little. This, and the well, is, in my
opinion, all you need.
I cannot express to you, my dearest daughter,
how I love your little house. In it may God make
you worthy to serve Him and all your dear daughters
perfectly, not forgetting the good and dear Sister
de la Flechere, who has lodged us so comfortably.
Show her much affection and comfort her with all
simplicity and confidence. The poor woman needs
it, for she is in great trouble about her affairs.
Good-bye, dearest daughter.
Yours most affectionately.
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Pray for me that I may do God's holy will.
Amen.
P.S. — I must add this word. Study meekness
and humble gravity. I beg it of you. The Chapter
on Religious Modesty, well practised, will give you
this grace.
LXV.
To the Sisters of the Visitation.*
Vive >J< Jesus !
ANNECY, 1626.
MY VERY DEAR SlSTERS,
I present to you, in all the sincerity of my
heart, the directions and customs which have been
established in this monastery by our late holy Father
and Founder, having arranged them in what seemed
to me the most convenient form for their preserva
tion. And I have added, following his injunctions,
some things which he had written with his own hand,
and others, which he had marked, but had not yet
written.
The majority of the Sisters who have known him
* Saint Jane Frances originally intended this letter to
serve as a Preface to the Book of Customs, but deeming that
she had spoken with too much authority therein, and also
in order not to give any pretext for the calumnies of those
who accused her of desiring to pose as General of her Order,
the holy foundress kept back its publication, and never in
her lifetime gave it to the Institute. Amongst her sisters
she would not accept any other title than that of Eldest
Daughter of the Family.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 153
are aware, as I am, that it was his wish that these
Directories, Ceremonials, and Customs should, in the
future, be for ever observed in all our monasteries of
the Visitation, in order, permanently, to keep up the
union and conformity which until now has existed
between them and the first monastery. To further
this end, it has been my desire, by means of the first
Sisters of our holy Order and of the entire Chapter
here, to make them known, so that with me they may
bear witness, to those who succeed us, that they are
the same Directories, Ceremonials, Customs, and
Ordinances which were established in this monastery
of Annecy by our said holy Founder, and that they
have been observed by these first Sisters, and by all
the Communities which they governed, in as far as
they have been communicated to them. But because
it has pleased divine Providence to confer on me,
though so unworthy, the honour, grace and happi
ness of being one of the first sisters employed in
beginning this most admirable and holy manner of
life, our holy Father and Founder has instructed me
and them with peculiar care. Therefore, dearest
Sisters, I think it will not be distasteful to you if I
exhort you to be faithful to the observance of things
which have been recommended for the welfare of
our souls with such tender love and zeal. Nor do
I think you will gainsay my recalling you to some
notable points to which I know he specially wished
that we should adhere.
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This I do in true affection, for, to me they sum up
all that is necessary for us and nothing more is
needed by us. His great fear, our Blessed Father
told me, was lest we should not thoroughly devote
ourselves to the practice of the Rule. And I, also
fearing this, pray God that our very apprehension
may make us all the more faithful to our observance.
" The precepts," he said, " of all virtue and perfec
tion are contained in our Rules and Constitutions."
Oh, how true this is ! For if we have but one heart
in God, if we honour Him in the person of one
another; if we are simple, humble, chaste, poor,
retiring, and all else that is prescribed, shall we not
fulfil all perfection ? Again, he said that our
Institute teaches us sufficiently what to do, and our
part is to do it. Let us, then, labour, I beseech you,
very dear Sisters, with our whole hearts, whether it
be in obeying or in commanding, to become living
Rules, not according to our own human wisdom and
prudence, but according to what is set down, practis
ing it, exactly and punctually, to the letter, without
gloss or comment ; and let us rather die than under
any pretext whatsoever depart from this holy way.
The peculiar obedience we owe their Lordships,
our prelates, is a special virtue of our Institute.
They ought to be its protectors and consequently
cannot command us anything at variance with it.
Many a time has our Blessed Father exhorted us to
be on our guard against opening the door to any
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 155
change, for with it all will go. Not even in things
of small importance would he have us yield, for
little changes open the way to greater, and if we
want to keep intact what we have received, and
what has been so wisely instituted, we must change
nothing. Old established customs, though but
mediocre, are better than new ones that appear to
us more desirable. Above all he charged Superiors
to take heed to this, and insisted that the good
or evil estate of their monasteries rests in their
hands; that care and attention to their duty should,
in them, be universal ; that they ought not to neglect
even the most insignificant points; and said that
their love, cordial support, and zeal for the perfection
of the Sisters in exact observance would make their
monasteries abodes of happiness, and preserve their
Institute. We must aspire, then, to nothing more
and to nothing less than what is prescribed for us.
All these words of Our Blessed Father should be
engraven on our hearts and practised literally. If,
however, times and places demonstrate the necessity
of accommodating in some point, and the change
affects in no way the Rules, Constitutions, and
Customs essential to the conformity of the convents,
such change can be made. But we should first
consult the Spiritual Father, some capable and pious
persons, and the old established monasteries of the
Order, above all Annecy, which latter, after having
maturely considered the proposition, should confer
156 SELECTED LETTERS OF
with the monastery of Lyons, so that the changes
introduced may not be made lightly, nor except
when of great utility for the welfare of the monasteries
and in cases of evident necessity. Another grave
fear entertained by Our Blessed Father was, lest
the spirit of worldly prudence and wisdom should
glide in amongst us. Here also then should we be
on our guard, for it would be our ruin; above all if
it crept in in regard to the election of Mother
Superiors and of those Sisters who have the chief
charges in the monasteries. Most careful and con
scientious should the Sisters be on this point, never
receiving any Superior but her whom they them
selves have elected; for this the Rule commands.
Make no account on these occasions of certain
natural or acquired talents, of the gift of speaking
well, of fine presence, of certain attractive qualities,
of brightness of manner, of nobility, or of many
years of priority in age or in Religion, nor of such
qualities which if they be not accompanied with
what is solid, should not be considered by us.
Rather let us choose those who have discretion and
good judgement, who are simple, sincere, humble,
who have zeal for the observance. Not those who
abound in their own sense, for such as are affected
with this malady usually discredit the spirit of
religion in order to introduce their own. We should
employ those who do not seek the higher charges,
judging themselves unworthy of any.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 157
Such sisters will do admirably all that obedience
orders, and the spirit of God will govern in them.
Believe me, this point is of great importance, my
dearest Sisters. Be faithful to it, then, I beg of you.
In the same way must we dread human prudence
and human considerations in the reception of sub
jects (the good choice of which is essential for the
preservation of the Institute); above all of subjects
who are infirm or defective in body. You will tell
me that this has been so often recommended in our
writings that there is no need for me to speak of it
here. Yes, this is true, yet I cannot refrain from
repeating myself, because I see that this article on
the reception of those who have some bodily defect
is often combated by wise persons, and is quite
contrary to natural prudence, which sometimes
furnishes so many good reasons that poor charity
has trouble enough to hold herself above it. Where
fore, to observe this point intact we need great
courage, and we should often call to mind that it is
the end of our Institute, and the desire of desires
of our holy Institutor, as is shown by his warning
to those who infringe it. And see how by this law
he has provided us with a means of practising the
two cherished virtues of our Congregation to which
he so constantly exhorted us : gentle charity towards
our neighbour, and love of our own humiliation.
All that can help us to gain these virtues ought to
be very dear to us, since they are the foundation
158 SELECTED LETTERS OF
and mainstay of the whole spiritual edifice of the
Visitation. Let us then cleave to them, humbling
ourselves more and more, so that we may accept
lovingly and with a welcome all that is abject in the
eyes of the world. Thus may we esteem ourselves
very poor and little in comparison to others, desiring
no other excellence than not to excel, depending
wholly on the good pleasure of God, seeking in all
things only His glory, for this, as you know, is the
characteristic of the daughters of the Visitation.
Oh ! my dearest daughters, how wre should prize
it ! It is the one thing worth caring about. For
the love of God, let us preserve it in its entirety, and
beware of the desire of excelling and of self-esteem,
which would rob us of it. Continually bear in mind
all that our Blessed Father has both left us in his
writings and said to us on this subject, so that our
undertakings may be adorned with this holy virtue.
I shudder as I write and cannot keep back my tears
from the fear that some day this spirit will be lessened
or lost. Oh my God ! permit not this, but rather
let our Institute cease to be. My Sisters, I entreat
you to be faithful. When I recall the labours, cares,
and pains through which our holy Founder established
and confirmed us as we now are, and his intense
desire that this spirit should continue unimpaired,
I feel that I would willingly give my life to preserve
it. With all the strength of my soul then I say:
Be jealous of it, for it is the supreme means of draw-
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 159
ing down upon us the grace of God, in whose hands
Our Blessed Father has left us with the assurance
that within the paternal Arms of the sovereign
Providence of God we shall never lack grace to
maintain our Institute in its first fervour, provided
we are faithful to its spirit.
When at Lyons he gave me the good and solid
reasons on which he had formed his final resolve to
leave us under the authority of their Lordships the
prelates. He added, with a deep and humble sense
of confidence: " Jesus Christ will be your Head and
your Protector — the happiness of your Congregation
will not depend on being placed under the govern
ment of one Superior, but on the fidelity of each
Sister individually, and of all together, to unite
themselves to God by an exact and punctual
observance." These are very consoling and striking
words, full of faith as they are. I am aware that
they are in the Book of Customs, yet I feel impelled
to quote them again here, for I should like to write
them in a hundred places, and above all in the
depths of your hearts. We should look upon them
as the last will and testament of our holy Founder,
and by faithful practice keep them inviolably. In
them we shall find our happiness and the one and
only means of preserving untarnished the spirit of
our Institute, which is a spirit strong and finely
tempered. By means of them shall we also learn
how to hide ourselves and how to dwell in peace in
160 SELECTED LETTERS OF
the paternal bosom of our good God, humbly
trusting that these his words will produce deeds.
So we must not be anxious, no matter what happens
to us, but remain ever tranquil, striving with the
assistance of divine grace not to philosophize on
what may never come about. For our Blessed
Father said to me: " To maintain our Congregation
we may search in vain amongst human means for
any better way than our Rule."
He likewise told me that he intended to put things
still more plainly, so as to secure that unity and
conformity amongst the monasteries and that spirit
of humility, with all of which God had already so
abundantly blessed them; for he longed above all
things that they should continue as they are. He
ordered me to see that, to the permissions for founda
tions given by the Bishops, the article on " Founda
tions " which is in the Book of Customs should be
added. The principal exterior means that he judged
suitable for keeping up union was conformity to and
correspondence with Annecy in everything regarding
the complete observance received from him. " Al
though," he said, " it is established in a small town,
it has nevertheless been the will of divine Providence
that the germ of the Congregation of the Visitation
should be formed there, and there receive its law
and foundations. ' ' Wherefore the other monasteries
of the Visitation are always to acknowledge the
house of Annecy as their mother and source, and
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 161
maintain with it the closest union of charity, con
forming themselves entirely to it, having particular
intercourse with it, and referring to it in order to be
instructed in the doubts and difficulties which may
arise in practising the Rule and Customs. Such, I
assure you with entire truthfulness, was his express
wish, and he informed me of it in a manner full of
graciousness and wisdom. Conformity to his wishes,
and likewise the happiness which this monastery
possesses in being the depository of his holy body,
will always induce the other houses to keep up an
affectionate union with us here. And as he asked
this on your parts so did he desire that Annecy
should make you all a return of unstinted service,
giving both materially and of its members with a
great zeal and a large-hearted affection, while keep
ing up the observance even to the most minute
regulations conscientiously and exactly, so that here
it may be always found practised in its pristine
vigour and integrity.
I must not omit to repeat these words of his, also
said to me at Lyons: " It is by a special providence
of God that the Jesuit Fathers have so great an
affection and charity for us. We should value this
and return it, holding them in singular respect and
giving them our confidence, for they will be a great
help to us. It is not, however, necessary so to
attach ourselves to their Order as to lose our liberty,
for this we must jealously guard. Neither should
M
162 SELECTED LETTERS OF
it prevent us from union with other Orders with
which we ought to keep in touch, for our Congrega
tion should have a universal spirit"; and again:
" I do not meant hat those who counsel our Sisters
are to change their exercises or their manner of
carrying them out, for there must be no change, and
in this they must be firm."
Such is almost word for word what I learned from
his lips, and to know his will is sufficient, I feel
assured, in the goodness of your hearts, to render
you docile to it. For me, it but remains to urge you
to this, not only exteriorly, but what is of far more
consequence, interiorly, in the spirit, to be cordial,
gentle, humble, artless, poor with a poverty which
keeps us to a holy medium in everything, avoiding
superfluities and all that savours of ostentation. To
all this I affectionately entreat you with all the
earnestness of which I am capable. I cannot truly
bring my letter to a close without congratulating this
dear convent of Annecy on the privileges and graces
with which eternal Providence has been pleased to
favour it in rendering it lovable and worthy of respect
to all the other houses, for where will true daughters
of this Order be found who hold it not in high esteem
and who envy it not its privileges, above all that of
being the dear guardians of the sacred body of its
Founder ? — verily, a most precious grace, for which it
ought unceasingly to offer the sacrifice of praise to
the divine Majesty. But, my very dear daughters,
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 163
what, think you, ought to be this sacrifice of praise
in thanskgiving for so great a benefit ? None other
surely than the constant and persevering offering
of a very exact and holy observance to all contained
in the Institute, so that it will always there be found
practised in its perfect vigour and integrity. See,
my dear daughters, to what our birthright obliges us.
Let us then remain very humble, very poor in
our own esteem, and in holy fear before God, showing
our appreciation of the dignity conferred upon us
not by esteeming ourselves above others, which
would but turn to harm the priceless gifts we possess,
but rather by being the most humble, the most lowly,
the most faithful of all.
May God grant us this grace ! Amen.
May I venture to add a very humble prayer to
our Sisters the Superiors, that they will keep in mind
this word of the Rule: " Let us be before God under
the feet of all our Sisters "? Ah ! my God, if we
treat them so, if we love our Sisters with a truly
maternal love, which is solicitous, vigilant, zealous for
the welfare of its children; if we govern them not
according to our own views we shall draw upon our
family all manner of blessings. Let them feel that
you have a mother's heart and solicitude for them,
keeping their minds tranquil and contented, and you
can do what you like with them.
All I have said above, very dear Sisters, I have
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said solely moved by love and desire. I reiterate
it all with the most emphatic and tender entreaties
from the depth of my heart. All our happiness is
shut up in it. We are obliged to it by vow. It is
our way of perfection of which we shall have to render
an account at the hour of death. Think well on this.
I pray the divine Goodness, through the inter
cession of His Holy Mother and of our Blessed
Father, to pour on you all the abundant treasures of
His grace, so that generously and cheerfully you may
continue to walk on this road, gaining by it the full
ness of all perfection in this life and in the next the
prize of a blessed eternity.
Pardon the great length of this letter and its
confidences, and obtain from the divine Mercy eternal
salvation for her who wishes you God's best graces
in abundance and who is, with unbounded affection,
Devotedly yours.
LXVI.
To Sister Anne Marie de Lage de Puylaurens,
Assistant and Mistress of Novices at Bourges.
Vive ^ J6sus !
ANNECY, 1626.
MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,
God has indeed favoured you in giving you
His holy light and strength to extricate yourself from
the dangerous temptation against your good, virtu
ous Mother. It is the devil's doing, in the hope of
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 165
upsetting you both by disuniting you. God be
blessed who has delivered you. Take great care
never to fall into it again and keep invariably united
to your written Rule, and to the living rule which is
your Superior. For it may be that God will permit
you to be under a very imperfect Superior, and, if
so, endure it. The spirit of God is there for you,
and think of nothing save that. Most assuredly, if
faithful you will never come to grief by this road.
Yes, of course, dearest daughter, your timidity
comes from self-love. For the love of God, master
your inclination and live as the Rule tells us, accord
ing to reason and to the will of God. If you yourself
do not make up your mind to this, there is no way of
helping you. Yoxi can be told what you ought to do,
but no one can do it but yourself. Be brave then.
God requires this of you. He calls you to a high
perfection, and your true way, the solitary road by
which you can attain it, is by corresponding faith
fully to the exact observance of the Institute, and
this with a holy fervour of spirit, humbly, sweetly
and simply. It consoles me to hear that you have
cut short your introspections, and that you are
more tranquil in the desire for your advancement,
this eagerness comes from nothing but self-love. Be
watchful against it always, I beg of you, and
accustom yourself to regard the will of God in all
things and to unite yourself to it. There is nothing
changed in the ceremonial. You can take as you
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think fit from the Book of Customs and the Spiritual
Directory for the instruction of your Novices, whom
I affectionately salute, and you also whom my soul
cherishes with a special and cordial love. I beseech
of you to be cordial and generous.
LXVII.
To the Baron de Chantal, the Saint's Son.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1626.
I have an intense longing for news of you, as I
cannot but feel anxious about this pain you are
suffering. If I could but ease it by bearing it in my
own body ! God so willing, what a relief it would
be to me, for my heart is sore at the thought of you.
Yet, believe me, my dearest Son, this suffering is
sent for the profit of your soul. Bear it then as
sweetly and as patiently as you can. It will help to
win heaven for you. Lift up your heart often to
that blessed country. The happiness that awaits
us there is eternal, while the sorrows of this life soon
pass away. And I beseech you, my own beloved
Son, since your condition obliges you to row on the
tempestuous sea of this world, try never to swallow
its waters, but drink rather of those of Divine grace,
turning in all your needs with a loving, filial trust
to that source of mercy. Love above all else, and
fear to displease, the God of sovereign goodness who
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 167
alone can make you happy both here and hereafter.
That you may possess in abundance His most
precious graces is the abiding wish of her who with all
her heart loves and cherishes you, her own special one.
Your good Mother.
LXVIII.
To the Same.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1627.
May blessings of every description be bestowed
upon my very dear son and beloved daughter for
this new year and for always, so that after having
lived long and happily together here on earth they
may continue in the enjoyment of one another in
eternal glory. This is my wish of wishes for you,
dearest son, and for that most charming little wife
whom God has given you and whom I love so
tenderly for your sake. I long for news as to the
health of both of you and of the dear little daughter,*
whom may God also make altogether His own if it
please Him.
I still look forward to visiting you next summer,
as Mother de Chatel, who is Superior here (at
Annecy), desires me to go to Orleans, and you are so
near that I hope to be able to see you and your little
family. This consolation I promise myself with the
help of divine Providence which I unceasingly invoke
* Marie de Chantal, afterwards Madame de Sevigne.
i68 SELECTED LETTERS OF
for you, that it may lead you securely through all
the miseries and temptations of this wretched life,
beset as it is with occasions of separating us from
God's holy fear and love. My beloved son, never
put a foot outside the safe keeping of this love and
fear. Think of the eternal life to which we are all
journeying and of the instability of this one, which
is but a roadway on which we pass from one sorrow
to another. In the name of God let us so live here
that we may live together eternally in everlasting
happiness and glory. This desire consumes the
heart of your unworthy Mother, who loves you
beyond words.
LXIX.
To M. de Coulanges, Junior, at Paris.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY,
SlR, nth January, 1627.
I bless God with all my heart for the good
news you give me of your happy marriage and of the
complete recovery of my son. Indeed, I am allied
to your honourable family by so many obligations
and so close an affection that I cannot but share in a
large measure all the good and evil fortune that
befalls you; therefore have I every reason, seeing
you so happy in this marriage, to rejoice with you
and to congratulate your family. Thanking God, as
I do with all my heart, for this great blessing, I beg
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 169
of Him in His infinite goodness to spread an abund
ance of graces upon your union and to give you many
prosperous years. Such, Sir, are the wishes of my
heart for you and for your wife, whom I pray to
believe me to be her very humble servant.
Always your very
humble and affectionate servant.
LXX.
To the Countess de Toulonjon.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1627.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,
May God in His infinite goodness recompense
you by an abundance of spiritual and temporal
blessings for the loss you have sustained in the death
of a son,* tidings of which have reached me. I
know that you will have received this visitation of
God with a patient and loving submission to His
good pleasure, for in this valley of tears we must
expect many afflictions and but few consolations.
Keep lifting up your thoughts to Eternal Life, where
alone is to be found true repose. Into it cast all
your heart and all your hopes, and teach the little
one (Gabriellef) this lesson while she is still young.
* Madame de Toulonjon unhappily lost several of her
children at birth.
f Gabrielle de Toulonjon married her cousin, de Bussy
Rabutin, of unenviable celebrity. Needless to say, the
union was not for her a happy one.
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LXXI.
To the Same.
Vive *%< Jesus !
ANNECY, 1627.
MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,
May the sweet Saviour fill you and all those
dear to you with His holy love. I do not know
whether you have received my last letter in answer
to your confidential one. I am looking out for good
news. The tender love I bear you cannot but make
me a little anxious. However, I trust that God in
His love will support you and bring you safely
through. Now that a satisfactory peace* is, thank
God, concluded, I hope to have the consolation of
seeing you this year. Nevertheless, dearest daughter,
do not let yourself be taken up too much with
this hope, so that if divine Providence should
put obstacles in the way you may not be greatly
upset ; for beyond everything I want you to love His
holy guidance, and He is so good that He always
arranges what is best for His children, one of whom
you most assuredly are. How I long to impress upon
you this truth, that nothing can happen except by
the order and disposition of the Eternal Will. I
salute dear Gabrielle.
Ever your Mother, etc.
* A temporary peace made, during the Thirty Years'
War, with the Huguenots in May, 1626, and called the
Peace of Monzon.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 171
LXXII.
To Mother Marie- Adrienne Picket, Superior at
Rumilly.
Vive >J< Jesus !
ANNECY, 1627.
[The first lines are illegible.]
As to your temptations, divert your mind from
them, and in this do violence to yourself, but let it be
a gentle violence, and yet taking good hold. This
firmness tempered with mildness is, my daughter,
the course for you. God has hidden the prize of
eternal glory in the conquest and mortification of
ourselves, but a conquest and a mortification that
are always accompanied with sweetness; otherwise,
with your quick nature you will be the cause of
suffering not only to yourself but likewise to others.
Hence, gentleness is an important factor in govern
ment, and when allied to generosity, I daily see how
much souls are helped and supported by it. You
are aware of the very special love which I have for
your soul, and your house is to me as one of our own
dormitories here. They speak of your monastery
as being unfortunate, and ask how it is that it is so
afflicted. Such affliction should not be spoken of
as a misfortune, as it is the means of bringing glory
to God; for not one of your Sisters has died whose
soul is not giving Him praise in Heaven. This is,
dearest daughter, the language of the world. That
172 SELECTED LETTERS OF
of God is quite otherwise: for whenever a house is
visited by such tribulation as does not offend Him
it is a great mark of His benediction upon that
community. Now continue to be on your guard
lest there be any asperity in your corrections, for
hardness is neither becoming nor fruitful. Those
who have the charge of others are not usually able
to say with St Paul: " I am innocent of your
blood/'* meaning of the faults which these people
commit. On the contrary most commonly we are
guilty not only of our own faults but likewise of
those of others. For either we are too severe, or too
lenient; we have either corrected with harshness,
not seasoning our words with the sugar of holy
charity, or have neglected to correct at all.
I have nothing more to say, dearest daughter, but
that I forward the money for the new habit you have
made for me, and I beseech you, on the first opportu
nity, to send me back the old one which the sisters
have kept. There is nothing upsets me more than
these exterior manifestations of imaginary sanctity
in me; they are simply snares that the devil lays to
make me tumble into the pitfall of pride. I am
already a sufficient stumbling-block to myself with
out your adding to it. I implore of you, all of you,
not to be the occasion to me of so dangerous a
temptation, and if anyone has anything belonging
to me they will oblige me by burning it. Would to
* Acts9 xx, 26,
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 173
God that my sisters treated me as I deserve before
Him, then I should have some hope that by humilia
tions I might become what they imagine me to be:
but this providing me with continual temptations to
vanity is a thing insupportable to me. I tell you
this with sorrow in my heart and tears in my eyes.
The good N. and N. are very happy in having so
many exterior humiliations. I cherish them more
on account of these, and believe them to be, in God's
judgement, which is so different from that of men,
all the greater because of them.
Yours, etc.
LXXIII.
To Mother Anne Catherine de Beaumont, Superior of
the First Monastery of Paris.
Vive ^ J6sus !
ANNECY,
August i2th, 1627.
How good it is, my dearest daughter, to rest in
God and seek only His glory ! See how He has
guided this election, which has been a great conso
lation to me, and I have every hope that this dear
Mother Hel£ne Angelique (L'huillier) will rule with
such humility and gentleness that much glory will
accrue to God, and the Sisters be consoled and
satisfied. The Bishop of Geneva is very glad that
things have turned out as they have done. When
you are in the new house I think you will do well to
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send him word of your deposition and tell him of the
nature of your new office.
Our Blessed Father's process* is, thank God,
progressing well. The Depositions are bringing to
light treasures of virtue and sanctity : His incompara
ble charity and profound humility shine conspicu
ously throughout; but, for the matter of that, there
is no virtue that does not shine in him, for he
possessed all in a pre-eminent degree. Lord Jesus,
what a glorious thing it is to be a saint ! May God
make us worthy daughters of such a Father, and
may we above all have the grace to imitate his
humility and his poor opinion of himself ! Oh how
happy we should be if we could love this lowliness
and poverty so much prized by him.
The Archbishop of Bourges will be here till
October; but he will not be able to finish the busi
ness. The Bishop of Belley will then take it up,
for it is going to be a long affair. We start for
Orleans (D.V.) at latest on the I5th of October.
If Sister M. M.'s mind is not in accord with that
of her superior of Paris, and she is not satisfied,
though it seems to me she ought to be, you would
be doing a great charity to take her away with you.
It is a misery to see poor souls like this who are not
content with things as they are; however, they are
objects of our charity and our f orebearance. Good
bye, very dear daughter; I pray God to fill you and
* Process of Beatification.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 175
all our dear Sisters with His holy love. I salute all,
but in particular Sister Assistant. Our Sister the
Superior of Blois writes to tell me that their good
foundress has died. Help to relieve them if you
can in reference to the foundation.* They have
confidence that you will do your best for them, and
do it, I beg of you.
LXXIV.
To a Visitation Superior.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1627.
Thank you, my dear daughter, for praying for my
son. With his death, f most truly, came to me not a
* This is to say, see that the sum promised by the
foundress for the founding of a convent is forthcoming.
f The death of the Baron de Chantal is related by a
contemporary historian in the following terms: "Chantal
was chosen to head the first squadron of Volunteers, which
at this time comprised the whole flower of the Court, and
finding himself under orders to defend the Isle of R6 against
the English on July, 22nd, 1627, held his post with such
tenacious courage during six hours, although he had
received twenty-six pike wounds, of which he died two
hours later, that the heroism of his death was the subject
of universal praise, and all mourned him as his valour
merited. He was thirty-one years of age. The end of this
gallant gentleman was as Christian as it was self-sacrificing.
On the morning of the combat he prepared himself by the
reception of the Sacraments, and breathed his last in senti
ments of the most sincere piety. The following day Toitas
claimed his body from the English General, and it was then
embalmed and buried in the Isle of R6, his heart having
176 SELECTED LETTERS OF
feeling of death so much as of life for the soul of my
child, and God has given me a very clear light and a
very tender gratitude for His mercy towards this
soul. Alas ! not one of the fears that used to come
upon me of his dying in one of those duels into which
his friends enticed him but was harder to bear than
has been this good and Christian death. And
although it has deeply affected me, yet the consola
tion in the thought that my son has given his blood
for the Faith outweighs the sorrow. Besides, dear
daughter, it is a long time now since I have given
him and everything to Our Lord, by whose goodness
I hope to obtain the grace no more to desire aught
save to see Him dispose of all things to His liking in
time and in eternity.
LXXV.
To Mother Jeanne Helene de Gtrard, Superior at
Embrun.
Vive >%4 Jesus !
ANNECY,
i^th September, 1627.
MY VERY DEAR MOTHER,
I have just received your letter, and as we are
on the point of starting for Orleans I can neither
give my answer the attention the matter deserves,
been sent to his sorrowing widow, who had it buried with
honour in the church of the Minims in Paris, from whence
it was afterwards removed to the Church of the Visitation
Monastery, Rue St. Antoine."
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 177
nor go into it as fully as may be necessary. But
God with His wonted goodness will make up for my
deficiencies. Those good subjects to whose admit
tance your Archbishop objects muct not, of course,
be received, and if the Fathers write to me in refer
ence to them I will keep to his Lordship's commands.
It is impossible for a superior to undertake to give
all her orders at the Obedience* although it is well
for her to think a little beforehand of what she intends
to say at that time. The defect you mention is a
mere trifle, but that of urging on spirits over much,
although there is rarely sin, owing to your purity of
intention, is, however, a matter of great importance :
therefore, my dearest Sister, do, I beg of you, pro
ceed gently in this holy work.
Read with attention the writings of our holy
Founder (St. Francis de Sales), and you will there see
the extreme sweetness and suavity with which he led
souls, and how marvellously they thus advanced.
Follow his spirit closely, I pray you, animating
all, encouraging all, yet always with gentleness.
Commonly speaking, we have more strength for
bearing up on great occasions than on small ones,
so it is that being overcome by slight difficulties we
get to know, through the grace of God, how weak
we are, and in this way He keeps us humble and
* Before the Sisters disperse at the morning and evening
recreations they receive " Obediences " from the Superior
as to any change of employment or any special devotions
in the course of the day.
12
178 SELECTED LETTERS OF
dependent on Him. These little attacks which give
you heart-aches are nothing to an enlightened mind
resolved to will only as God wills; and this, I know,
is your own sole aim.
Your sincerity in telling me this thought (that you
are more enlightened than I am) has given me great
pleasure. Such openness and simplicity of heart is
the cream of virtue, which I desire for the daughters
of the Visitation. May God increase it in you,
together with the love of your own humiliation and
holy liberty of mind.
Keep to this way, very dear daughter, and God
will, I trust, make you experience the wonders of His
mercy. Abide, I pray you, between the arms of
divine Providence and of holy Obedience, and let
not your desires outstep these limits.
Believe me, daughter, it is to God's glory that you
finish your term of office. I mean your triennial
term in the charge of which obedience has placed
you. I have a thousand reasons, both for God's
sake and for what is becoming in yourself, to show
you that this is the Visitation spirit, but I have no
leisure to write them. Give us the comfort of seeing
you persevere generously. You have only eighteen
months to get through. It will soon pass, and at
the end of it you will have abundance of consolation
for having satisfied the good pleasure of God who
asks this of you. Before that time, please God you
will confer and resolve together as to who is to be
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 179
your successor, and also about the buildings in
regard to which it would be well to have the opinion
of the Archbishop so as to conform to it as much as
possible. ... I want to say a few words to Sister
Anne Marie (Bon) and then hasten to finish.
Praying God abundantly to spread His holy
benedictions upon you and all your dear family, I
recommend myself with great earnestness to your
prayers, that in this journey, and at all times, I may
accomplish the holy will of God. I shall always
answer your letters whenever I receive them, for
God has given me a very sincere affection for you and
for your little house, and my desire is to respond to
the holy confidence you place in me with so much
candour and fidelity.
Adieu, dearest daughter. Believe me, with my
whole heart,
Your very humble sister and servant.
LXXVI.
To Sister Frangoise-Angelique de la Croix de Fesigney,
Mistress of Novices at Riom.*
Vive ^ Jesus !
ORLEANS, 1627.
MY DEAREST LITTLE ONE,
Your letter has given me much consolation,
for in it I see somewhat more determination to
* This Sister was a relative of St. Francis de Sales. St.
Jane Frances, who never flattered, used to call her " the
little Saint."
180 SELECTED LETTERS OF
follow the advice we have given you, which, for you,
is the only suitable advice. Keep your heart on
high and confide with holy joy, and no reserves, in
the goodness of God. He has designed to make
choice of you for His service in the Monastery in
which He has placed you : where no doubt there are
others more capable than you, but that does not
signify in God's eyes. It is humility, not capacity,
He looks for. The most humble and the most
faithful to His divine will contents Him most, and
this is, I know, the way in which you are determined
to serve Him. Live where you now are as you used
to live at Nessy, growing in perfection by persever
ance in the practice of virtue. This is all I ask of
you. And if you give way now and again, be not
cast down by such falls, but for love of God rise
again with courage. It will give me great pleasure
if you try to suppress childish ways. I wish I
could make you see this. Should you, however,
fall into them sometimes, do not worry. In a word,
dearest little one, guide your novices boldly according
to the teaching of the Directory and you will see how
God will bless your care of them. For my part I
feel sure He wishes to use you for the well-being of
your monastery, for, as you know, all depends on
the novitiate.
I never thought much of good Sister Madeleine
Let her not think that I believe in her revelations.
Most assuredly God does not give such to souls who
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 181
are so full of imperfections. She can tell untruths
about what I said to her just as she does about other
things. Try, however, to gain her and give poor
Sister, the Superior, all the comfort you can. I
write in haste. I should like to write often, but I
cannot. However, we shall meet again, please God.
My daughter, my dearest little one, be henceforth, I
repeat, joyous and generous in the service of the
good God. Ask Him always how you should speak
and act, and be assured that in everything for your
good and for that of your dear novices He Himself
will act and speak through you. I salute most
affectionately the novices whom I dearly love, and
all our Sisters. May God put Sister N. in the right
way.
Adieu, daughter.
LXXVII.
To St. Vincent de Paul.*
Vive ^ Jesus !
PARIS,
December, 1627.
Now that you are working in the Province of
Lyons, my very dear Father, we shall have no
opportunity of seeing you for a long time, yet it is
* The reciprocal affection and veneration of St. Vincent
de Paul and St. Francis de Sales is well known. Both
trained in the school of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the one
the apostle of Charity, the other of Gentleness, these two
souls bore so striking a resemblance to one another that
when, upon the death of St. Francis, St. Chantal placed
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not for us to gainsay what God arranges. May He
be blessed in all things. But, very dear Father, I
am taking advantage of the liberty which in your
charity you have given me to continue importuning
you with my confidence, and I do so in all simplicity.
I gave four days to the Exercises (Retreat), and
no more, on account of the amount of business that
has come unexpectedly upon me. During those
days I realized how much I need to labour at acquir
ing humility and at bearing with my neighbour. I
have been trying to acquire these virtues during the
past year, and with Our Lord's help have practised
them somewhat. But it is His doing, not mine, and
if it please Him I will so continue as He gives me
many opportunities for the practice of them. For
my part it seems to me that I am in a simple state
of waiting on the good pleasure of God to do what
ever He wills with me. I have no desires, no plans;
I hold to nothing, and very willingly leave myself in
His hands; still, I do this without sensible devotion,
but I think it is all right at the bottom of my heart.
I just do at the present moment what seems to me
necessary without thinking any further, or planning
for the future. The whole inferior part of my being
herself under the guidance of St. Vincent de Paul, she is
said to have felt that she had made no change in her spiritual
direction. Of her intimate correspondence with St.
Vincent, which continued until her death, there remains,
unfortunately, but a mere fragment.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 183
is frequently in revolt, and this causes me much
distress. I can but bear with it, knowing that
through patience I shall possess my soul. More
over, I have an ever increasing weariness of my
charge, for I cannot endure the labour it entails, and
I am obliged to force myself to do the necessary
work which is wearisome to both mind and body. No
matter how I am occupied, my imagination gives
me a good deal of trouble, and it all makes me sick
at heart. Our Lord permits me besides to have
many exterior difficulties, so that nothing in life
gives me pleasure save only the will of God who
wills them. I beseech you to implore Him to have
mercy on me, and I shall never fail to pray Him with
all my heart to give you the strength you need for
the charge that He has entrusted to you.
LXXVIII.
To the Countess de Toulonjon.
Vive *%< Jesus !
PARIS,
loth of May, 1628.
MY GOOD, DEAREST DAUGHTER,
May God be your eternal joy and consolation !
The Bishop of Chalons has written to tell me what
a comfort it has been to him to have had you near
him for a little while, and his only regret is that you
could not have stayed longer. He is most kind-
hearted.
184 SELECTED LETTERS OF
M. Coulon, at the request of M. de Coulanges, has
brought me all the contracts, in order to let me see
just how things have been, which indeed I knew
already, and an account of which I have given in a
memorandum to M. de Bussy for you, so that M. de
Saint-Satur may make up his mind either to re
linquish his claim or to make it good: for M. de
Coulanges wishes to hear our side of the matter
before putting my son's property in order. This is,
dearest daughter, my reason for begging of you to
settle how you intend to act, for if this business is
dragged on, the property will be spent to the ruin
of the little de Chantal child. I hope Our Lord in
His goodness will let us see clearly the truth, and
that seeing it we may preserve that blessed peace
and harmony which is more precious in families than
all the goods of the world. M. Coulon will have told
you how greatly M. de Coulanges and my daughter
de Chantal desire that this union amongst us should
be maintained, and that things should be arranged
amicably and without delay ; of this I can assure
you, dearest daughter, so pray think the matter
over; for to tell me that you will give it all up if I
so desire is not the point at all. If you have a just
claim I have no wish that it should not be satisfied,
this being only reasonable; but if you have none,
which I think is the case, and that the title-deeds
show it as plain as day, I would wish you to put in
no claim, so that the affairs of this poor little child
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CtiANTAL 185
may be arranged in peace. Should God take her to
Himself you will then have wherewith to be satisfied.
While awaiting the great comfort of seeing you,
you ought, I think, to act conclusively in the
matter.
Praying God to spread in abundance His holiest
blessings upon you and upon our poor child, I
remain, very dear daughter, notwithstanding all
surmises to the contrary, in very truth and with
my whole heart your Mother, who has for you
that incomparable maternal love which God has
given me and which by His grace will never grow
less.
I salute M. de Saint-Satur, whose most humble
servant I am.
Good-bye, my dearest daughter.
LXXIX.
Extract from a letter to Mother Favre.
Writing from Bourges, 1628, to Mother Favre,
who had just been elected Superior of the Second
Monastery of Paris, St Chantal says: " Your good
Father (St. Vincent de Paul), for whom I feel so
much reverence and affection, thanks me for the
gift we have given him of you. This is, I think, to
forstall your being taken away. I shall see to it
with the Bishop of Geneva and with you yourself.
i86 SELECTED LETTERS OF
What a rogue you are ! But all the more are you
my truly loved daughter, for whom I have an in
comparable affection. I send my salutations to
whoever you wish. God be blessed !"
LXXX.
To Sister Anne Marguerite Clement at Orleans.
Vive >J« Jesus !
DIJON, 1628.
Yes, indeed, my dearest daughter, God should
be all in all to you. The one cherished good of
the soul is to be alone with her God. Remain in
this state of simple detachment, loving and obeying
Our Lord in the person of your Superior and follow
ing blindly her guidance and her commands. I
know full well that you have given me your heart
and that God has lodged it in mine, and this is why
I hope nothing may ever take it thence. Through
His grace we have been trained in the same spirit
and vocation in this world; may we continue
together to love and praise the supreme Beloved of
our souls for all eternity. Since God has deprived
you of the power to use the intellectual faculties of
your soul, do not attempt to do so, but acquiesce in
His good pleasure. Be as a child in the arms of its
nurse, letting God do just as He likes with you
through holy obedience, and try little by little to
forget self. I do not think there is any other means
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 187
of securing stable peace of soul than the giving one
self up absolutely, in order to be led and directed by
obedience.
Yours, etc.
LXXXI.
To Mother Catherine-Charlotte de Cremaux, de la
Grange.
Vive >J< Jesus !
ANNECY, 1629.
MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,
The good gentleman* who is making your
foundation at Condrieu manifests a great regard for
it and much piety, courtesy, and humility in the
articles of his foundation which I have seen. Indeed
it is but reasonable to do all you can to please him.
However, in regard to this first proposition of naming
those whom he wishes to be received without a
dowry, you must if possible arrange that the Sisters
have the liberty to choose the subjects, lest those
he names may not be suitable. This is an important
point for the preservation of peace in our Institute,
as usually those who present subjects have such a
strong desire to see them received that, if they prove
to have no vocations, the Sisters by sending them
away make for themselves enemies instead of
* This foundation was made from Lyons by M. de Villars,
whose brother, Mgr. de Villars, Archbishop of Vienne,
presided at the installation of the Sisters at Condrieu,
January ist, 1630.
i88 DELECTED LETTERS OF
friends: so have a clear agreement on this point.
It is quite necessary, in order not to be constrained
to take those who are found to be unsuitable.
The Book of Customs will afford light on this
matter. . . .
As to the Fourth Article, the instruction of young
girls. To take boarders is contrary to the spirit of
our Institute. Our Blessed Father never approved
of it. I do not know if you will find amongst his
letters one which he wrote to a superior who had
been approached on this subject by her Bishop.
The Book of Customs permits indeed that three
young girls, but not more, between the ages of ten
and twelve, whose parents destine them for the
Religious life, should be instructed and trained for
it. If therefore one could manage to give satisfac
tion by arranging such instructions as they desire
in the parlour to young girls, and to some friends,
that could be done on feast-days, and on one day in
the week besides, but to act otherwise would be
contrary to the Institute. Such is my humble
opinion, since you desire to have it.* We received
* The Little Sisters, of whom St. Jane Frances herself
deemed it sometimes necessary to increase the numbers,
have long since been superseded by small secular schools.
The needs of the times, and the solicitations of the Bishops,
under direct obedience to whom St. Francis wished his
daughters always to remain, impelled the Mother Superiors
of various monasteries, including that of Annecy, to deviate
from the original design of the founders in so far as to open
schools. But where this departure from the original Rule
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 189
your letters yesterday, and will answer them as
soon as we can, but the bearer only gave us time to
open them. We shall have the answers ready to
send you on the first opportunity that presents
itself.
LXXXII.
To M. Poiton,* at Chambery.
Vive >J< Jesus !
ANNECY,
Feb. 2nd, 1630.
MY GOOD AND VERY DEAR BROTHER,
I have already thanked God for your safe
return, and when writing to my Sister the Superior
(of Chambery) sent you my good wishes. Now,
while renewing them, I would like to tell you how
very much I desire to see you and talk over some
matters of interest with you, so I hope this poor
is not found necessary, the houses continue to be purely
contemplative. It is interesting to note that on the death
bed of the Venerable Mother Chappuis, her daughters
desiring to know her dying wish in reference to their own
school, she said: " It neither interferes with the silence,
the regularity, nor the solitude of the Sisters, and is neither
against the Rule, nor against the spirit of the Institute."
We are told that at Troyes, where this venerable
servant of God died, the Community, apart from the few
engaged in teaching, was absolutely ignorant of what
passed in the school, knowing neither the names nor the
numbers of the school-children.
* The Convent lawyer.
igo SELECTED LETTERS OF
town will soon be restored to entire liberty.* Mean
while, dear brother, you will, with your usual kind
ness, take steps to accelerate the lawsuit against M.
de la Ravoir, and this I very strongly recommend
to you, as I am greatly astonished to see such apathy
about an affair, that is so clear. It is now two
years, or at least a year and a half, since the suit
was begun, and it is of great importance to all our
monasteries in Savoy. As to us here, if the judg
ment is not in our favour it will later entail a number
of legal proceedings and annoyances, for many are
awaiting the result of this case to go to law with us
themselves. M. Fichet, who is at Chambery, has
already done so, and hopes to deprive us of the
dowry of his sister, who died here after a year and a
day of profession. The ground upon which he
bases his claim is, that, notwithstanding her profes
sion, she made a will leaving everything to this
monastery. You see, dear brother, how much the
peace or trouble of our houses of Savoy, in regard
to the Sisters' dowries, depends on the issue of M .
Ravoir's case. If you can still procure legal approval
of our exemption from the tax upon salt all our
* In the spring of this year (1630) the invading armies
of Louis XIII. reached Annecy. The little town bravely
but ineffectually resisted. On capitulation one of the
clauses it stipulated, and which was granted by the Com_
mander-in-Chief of the French Army, was that the body
of the venerable Francis de Sales should never be removed
nor taken out of Annecy.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 191
houses will be under fresh obligations to you, and,
besides, you will be helping towards our Sisters'
buildings while awaiting the time when you can
help us to build our church.
Pray convey my remembrances to the Commander
Baldain. I never write to him because letters only
worry him, and, besides, I am myself so over
whelmed with letters and business, owing to the
number of our monasteries that correspond with
this one, that I am hardly able to get through it all.
From day to day we are expecting the removal of
the restrictions on this town, after which we shall
converse with leisure, fully and freely. I beseech
Our Lord to shed upon you His choicest blessings.
Recommending myself to your good prayers, believe
me with the same affection that I always have for you,
Yours, etc.
LXXXIII.
To Dom Galice, Barnabite Father at Montargis.
Vive >J< Jesus !
ANNECY,
MY REV. FATHER, February, 1630.
May the love of our Divine Saviour be the
life of your soul. . . .
I am very incompetent to give a useful answer to
your letter in reference to my Sister the Superior of
Montargis:* I beg of Our Lord to enlighten me that
* Mother Anne Marguerite Clement.
IQ2 SELECTED LETTERS OF
what I say may be in accordance with His good
pleasure. In the spiritual life of this Sister I have
always seen many traits of special communication
from God. Her humility is genuine, her charity
towards her neighbour practical, her manner of
treating with her Superiors straight and simple,
and she has a real love of mortification, and of the
practice of virtue. These are solid dispositions and
such as are usually favoured by God. He has, I see,
given your Reverence so clear and discerning a light
in regard to the workings of grace in this soul and so
much wisdom and counsel in guiding her that we
can but look on with silent admiration. All I have
to say is that I have never seen anything clearer,
more simple, humble, and artless, than the terms, in
which, with such lucidity, she manifests the opera
tions of God in her, and the activities of her own
soul. To me it is impossible to believe that she is
moved by any other than the Spirit of God. It is
said that we know the tree by its fruit, and as her
tree brings forth the fruit of solid virtue there is
nothing, I think, to fear. With your approval, my
very dear Father, I venture to say that the suitable
accompaniment to such great favours is interior
recollection and self-humiliation. She writes to me
somewhat fully of her feelings. I reply briefly, but,
as I think, sufficiently. Let her pay little attention
to what passes in her, and fix the eyes of her mind on
the^unity and simplicity of the presence of God,
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 193
leaving it to do its own work. As to communion,
your Reverence will allow it to her as your prudence
and discretion dictate. I am told that the Bishop
of Sens is a man of a very interior spirit and of great
piety. If he visits this convent it would be well,
I have been thinking, subject to your approval, to
let him know what passes in this dear soul: this
would give us much light, or at any rate it would
give us confidence. I am quite of your opinion that
it would be well for her to write what passes within
her.
LXXXIV.
To the Same.
Vive >$4 J6sus !
ANNECY,
MY REV. FATHER, August, 1630.
My dear Sister, the Superior, is very happy
to be privileged to receive so many graces in such a
spirit of deep humility and detachment. This is
the touchstone by which to prove that they are from
God, and which keeps in security the soul of the
recipient. She serves truly a good Master; yet I am
always of the same opinion that she ought not to be
too much carried away by these affections for fear
that in weakening the body they might unfit her for
the duties of her charge. It would be well for her
to restrain her emotions so as to keep them in the
superior part of her soul and thus prevent an over-
194 SELECTED LETTERS OF
flow on the body : this is a safer way. To hear from
time to time of what passes within her would, my
very dear Father, be an immense consolation to me :
say, for instance, towards the end of the year, or as
your Reverence judges best.
LXXXV.
To Mother Anne Marguerite Clement, Superior at
Montargis.
Vive tfr J6sus !
ANNECY, 1631.
1 am very well satisfied, my dearest daughter,
with the favourable opinion of your Bishop as to
your dealings with God. Blessed for ever be He
who is so infinitely good as to deign to communicate
Himself in such plenitude to His poor and un
worthy creature.
My daughter, there is nothing for me to say on
this head. Do faithfully whatever your worthy
Bishop desires you to do. You have only to look at
God and to let Him work, completely forgetting
yourself in Him. Since He in His love permits you
to speak to Him so lovingly and familiarly I pray
you, dearest daughter, present to Him sometimes
my miserable little heart, humbly beseeching Him to
make it entirely His, to strip it of all that does not
find favour in His sight, and to give it the grace to
do and suffer all things whatsoever that His good
pleasure wills.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 195
Earnestly recommend to Him our poor little
Congregation, that His spirit may reign therein, and
commend me often to His most holy love. Do this
so heartily that I may feel the effects in as full a
measure as His adorable will permits. Give me
always your sweet affection in that holy love. I
have read the two pages of your letter regarding
your interior state, upon which I say nothing, save
to praise God for the graces and lights that He
vouchsafes to you. It is not for the creature to use
empty and insipid words when the Creator Himself
deigns to speak.
LXXXVI.
To Sister Marie Denise Goubert, of the First Monastery
of Lyons.
Vive ^ J6sus !
ANNECY, 1631.
MY DEAREST SISTER,
I have read and re-read your letter, at the
end of which you beg of me to tell you if you are
deceiving yourself in the belief which you hold as
strong as an article of faith (to begin with, it is a
grave fault to believe one's imagination in the same
way as one believes an article of faith) that your
spirit is lost in God, as you describe it to be. Now
I tell you plainly, with my wonted sincerity, that I
believe you are deceiving yourself; for true lowli
ness is not made up in the imagination, nor does it
196 SELECTED LETTERS OF
consist in having many affections and lights to
discourse on such things as you do. When one sees
such lights in a soul dead to self it gives great con
solation. But, my daughter, your are very far
from such happiness, for you are bristling with self-
love. Try to acquire genuine humility, which
consists in the death or the allaying of your passions,
inclinations, sentiments: your presumption, vanity,
and self-love; having achieved this you must labour
constantly and perseveringly by a continual morti
fication of your whole being. Begin by retrenching
the vain flights of your imaginations and the activity
of your understanding. I would wish you not to be
so subtle in your questions.
In a word, my daughter, you must become truly
humble and really mortified, and then God will live
and reign in you. Take the advice and follow the
guidance of your good Mother, and God will bless
you. That God may do so is my prayer to Him.
I remain, in His holy love,
Yours, etc.
LXXXVII.
To Dom Galice, Barnabite Father at Montargis.
Vive >J« J6sus !
ANNECY, 1632.
VERY REV. FATHER,
I most humbly thank you for the trouble you
have taken in writing me so full an account of what
it has pleased Our Lord in His goodness to operate
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 197
in this privileged soul,* and of the favourable judge
ment which the Archbishop of Sens and the Rev.
Fathers de Condren and de Suffren have formed of
her. I do not think that it would be advisable at
present to seek further evidence, lest, as you say,
the peace of her spirit might thereby be disturbed.
As for me, knowing as I have done for a long time
the true humility, simplicity, and sincerity of this
soul, it seems to me almost impossible to doubt that
what passes in her is from God. From her infancy,
preventing graces have been evident in her — graces
quite exceptional in one of her age ; and when received
into this house she, from the very first, manifested
in all her actions the true virtues of religion, and as
she can herself tell your Reverence, God led her by
very rare lights and sentiments of devotion to seek
Him alone. I see by her letter to me that she does
not wish to remain inactive, and this comes from the
ardent desire that she has to please God. But I think,
my Rev. Father, that all she has to do is to leave
herself in Our Lord's hands, simply regarding Him
without the distraction of any other thought. God
will give you the light requisite for the guidance of
this holy soul, since He has placed her under your
care and direction. Indeed she is fortunate in
having met your Reverence, who takes such a
paternal interest in her, and there is good reason to
praise God. The divine Goodness will recompense
* Mother Anne Marguerite Clement.
198 SELECTED LETTERS OF
you abundantly, besides which I believe, very Rev.
Father, that this charge is light and comforting to
you. Do not forget to remember in the Holy
Sacrifice her who desires for you the most pure love
of our Lord, and who is truly,
Yours, etc.
LXXXVIII.
To Sister Marie Aimee de Morville, .at Moulins.
Vive >%4 Jesus !
ANNECY, 1632.
I have just come from holy communion, my
dearest daughter, at which I blessed and thanked
the God of infinite goodness for the loud call with
which He has been pleased to bid you turn back to
Him, and I besought Him with all the energy of my
soul to keep so firm a hold upon you that nothing
ever again may draw you away. For this I hope,
dearest daughter, through His grace and your faith
ful co-operation. I cannot but think that your
heart is too good ever to forget His superabundant
mercies to you. Ponder often on that counsel given
by both the Princes of the Apostles; Labour in fear
and trembling by good works to make sure your
vocation.* Your past miserable experience ought
* " Labour the more that by good works you may make
sure your calling and election." 2 Pet. i. 10.
" With fear and trembling work your own salvation."
Phil. ji. 12,
T. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 199
surely to make you tremble, and fearful of again
falling, and very watchful in avoiding all occasions
of temptation, especially those which you know to be
most prejudicial, such as conversations, intimacies,
affections, and communications with the outside
world, and even with spiritual persons unless rarely
and from true necessity. Then will it be your
delight to find contentment in the instructions you
will receive from the good Mother (Marie Angelique
de Bigny), who has a singular love for you, and is
besides both capable and full of charity. Her tears,
fasts, austerities, and prayers so frequently offered
to God on your behalf will, I doubt not, have touched
His heart, and helped to achieve your conversion.
To her will be given without fail every help requisite
for your happiness, and by means of her will His
Goodness lead you in the straight path. I have a
strong belief that those who submit not themselves
to the guidance of their Superiors submit not to
God. In a word, apply yourself to do rather than
to learn; this is my wish for you. We have in
abundance holy and solid instructions in the Insti
tute. For none better could we wish, and none are
better adapted to lead us to the great perfection
that our vocation demands. May the study and
the practice of them henceforth be your delight.
To this I conjure you so that by means of them you
may offer to the divine Goodness fruits worthy of
His mercy and to the Institute the perfume of a
\
200 SELECTED LETTERS OF
holy and sincere conversion. Thus will be assuaged
the sorrow and shame that by your past disorders
you have made it suffer, and all our hearts will be
filled with consolation. So much do I feel consoled
by the generous acts you have made* that my
displeasure at the past is all gone, and I assure you
you are now within my heart, where I cherish you
most truly and affectionately, and believe me
* In the early part of the summer of this year, 1632,
says the Mother de Chaugy, " it pleased God to open the
eyes of the Benefactress of our monastery of Moulins by
means of a dream. One night she dreamt that she saw a
torch suddenly extinguished by someone at the moment it
seemed to be trying to give forth more light. Taking this
as a divine warning that her life would, when she least
expected it, be thus suddenly extinguished, it evoked a keen
remorse for her past conduct. She sought her Superior,
and with every mark of genuine sorrow begged, for God's
sake, to be permitted once more to enter the novitiate, of
which petition the good Mother warmly approved. Sister
Marie Aimee, now desiring to make public reparation for the
scandal she had given, asked to do so at the open grille.
This was allowed, and having there renewed her profession,
she tore up the document containing the list of privileges
which had been granted to her as Benefactress and Co-
foundress with Madame de Gouffier. At the same time she
begged to be allowed the favour of living as a simple
religious, while confessing herself unworthy of such a grace.
From this time she became the consolation and the edifi
cation of all her Sisters, an example of fidelity to the holy
Rule, and for fifteen months her obedience, mortification,
and piety were all that could be desired. At the end of
that time the dream which had wrought her conversion was
verified. She was taken suddenly ill, and had only time,
before passing from this life, to implore the mercy of Him
who came to save the repentant sinner."
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 201
you will receive from all of the Institute and from
me nothing but proofs of love and affection.
I think it would be well some months hence, when
you have given yourself time to test your perse
verance, that you should give testimony of it to the
houses of the Institute by some humbly written
note, to make satisfaction for your past misconduct.
You have done well, dearest daughter, in giving
yourself unreservedly to God. His Providence will
not fail you nor permit you to be in want of anything.
If the good sister who used to serve you is worthy
of the favour you desire for her, most willingly can
it be granted, but not till she has proved her perse
verance in well-doing for some years. I pray God
to shed abundantly upon you the- assistance of His
grace.
LXXXIX.
To M. de Coysia, Counsellor to the Royal Senate
of Savoy.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY,
igth March, 1633.
Alas ! Sir, what is this that I have just heard ?
That you are arrested and charged with fresh
accusations ! Our good God, in permitting so much
affliction, can have no other design than by it to
make you conformable to His beloved Son our most
gentle Redeemer. If you shut your eyes to the
202 SELECTED LETTERS OF
things of earth and open them to eternal truths this
tribulation, accepted with loving and patient sub
mission, will, in the end, work a weight of glory and
bring you solid peace. One single spark of this true
honour is worth more, a million times, than all the
prosperity that the world could offer, which, as you
know, Sir, is all deceit and illusion. Ponder well
over the accusations with which the most holy Son
of the Eternal Father was charged, the pains that
He suffered, followed as they were by a terrible and
ignominious death. You are not more innocent
than He. And all this He suffered for you, for me,
for all ungrateful men, because it was the good
pleasure of His Eternal Father, with a love, patience,
and humility incomprehensible to us. So do you,
Sir, seek to imitate this portion of His Passion.
Lovingly embrace His will. Resign yourself abso
lutely to it. Place yourself and all your affairs in
His hands, so that He may dispose of all according
to His good pleasure. . . .
I need not assure you of our prayers: both affec
tion and duty claim them. May Our Lord be the
joy and consolation of Madame, my most dear sister,
and of yourself.
Always sincerely your very humble servant.
Feast of the glorious Saint Joseph, to whom I
recommend you with all my heart.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 203
XC.
To the Countess de Toulonjon, at Pignerol.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1633.
MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,
I hear that God is about to give you again
the blessing of motherhood, and I like to console
myself with the hope that you thank Him for this
grace and for all the prosperity you enjoy, taking all
from His hand who sends you these good things,
not to be employed in pomp and vain display, but to
make you advance in holy humility and loving fear
of Him. Tell me, daughter, and tell me quite
honestly and frankly, what are your sentiments upon
this point ? for I always have a certain dread that
the atmosphere of this world's affluence and honours
may smother us if we do not keep well before our
minds the thought of their instability, the certainty
that we must one day leave them, and the uncertainty
of the coming of that day. Think often of death
and of the blessed eternity those will enjoy who
value true happiness above all perishable things.
Impress these truths on your daughter, for they are
the best and most permanent heritage that you can
give her. Make her dearly prize the happiness of
living in the holy love of God, and in the fear of
204 SELECTED LETTERS OF
offending Him. These things, as you know, I have
always, from your tenderest years, striven to
engrave on your heart, and especially did I advise
you to fulfil all your duties towards your husband,
as God ordains. This advice I now reiterate. You
should give him all the satisfaction in your power.
Tell me also your thoughts on this point. Ah ! for
the love of God, daughter, let not your head be
turned by the honours and good things which you
have in such abundance. I am told that you have
become sarcastic. Believe me, dearest daughter, it
is by Christian modesty and a gentle and gracious
manner to all that you ought to make yourself
known. Turning others into ridicule is not becom
ing in one of your position and age. Try to conquer
and attract hearts by the means I have just pointed
out, and to surpass all in prudence and holy reticence
of action. Take this advice from your mother, who
loves you and desires to see you altogether perfect
in your station. May God give you the grace to
be so !
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 205
XCL
To Mgr. Andre Fremyot, formerly Archbishop of
Bourges (the Saint's brother).
ON THE DEATH OF HER DAUGHTER-IN-LAW,
MME. DE CHANTAL.*
Vive >J< Jesus!
ANNECY, 1633.
MY VERY HONOURED LORD,
We have but to adore with profound sub
mission the will of our good God, and lovingly to
kiss the rod with which He chastises His elect. Yes,
indeed, notwithstanding all the repugnance of
nature, I praise and thank Him a thousand times,
because He is our good God, who sends us with the
same love joys and sorrows, and even for the most
part causes greater profit to come to us through
affliction than through prosperity. Yet is it not
strange that knowing and experiencing this we
should feel so keenly as we do the death of those we
love ? — for I own to you that upon opening the little
note that announced the death of my poor dear
daughter I was so overcome that had I been stand
ing I think I should have fallen. I never remember
any previous sorrow to have had the effect of this
* The young Baroness de Chantal died August 2oth,
1633, and was buried in the vault at the Visitation Monastery,
Rue St. Antoine.
206 SELECTED LETTERS OF
note upon me. O ! my Jesus ! What a climax of
grief it has been to my poor feeble heart and how
your trouble has added to mine ! It is most natural
that you should feel it as you do, and at your age
too; what a sweetness and support you have lost in
this daughter who so lovingly looked after your
health and every want of yours. All this makes me
suffer more than I can say, for whatever touches
you touches me acutely. But when I reflect that
by means of these privations, lovingly accepted, our
good God wishes to be Himself everything to us,
and that the least advance we make in His love is
worth more than all the world with all its joys, and
that in those sharp trials which deprive us of our
sweetest pleasure He prizes above all the union of
our will with His — truly, I say, when I consider
these things, I find myself impelled to acknowledge
that the more sorrows that come upon one the more
is one favoured by God. I hope that before now
you will yourself have received this light and found
comfort in it. First emotions [of grief], my beloved
and dearest Lord, are inevitable, and our sweet
Saviour is not offended by them. But I trust that
after them He will abundantly fill you with con
solations; this I pray for unceasingly. Distract
yourself as much as you can and let the confident
hope that we shall be united in a blessed eternity
fortify you. The virtuous life and holy death of
our dearly loved daughter gives strong hope that in
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 207
God's mercy she is already in this enjoyment. We
are after all here only to prepare for future happi
ness, and the sooner we possess it the happier
for us.
1 am writing to M. and Mme. de Coulanges, to
whom this terrible loss must have been a great blow.
I believe they will take into their heart the poor
little orphan* and always keep her there. Verily
when my thoughts turn to her I have to hold them
in. I trust that God, to whom I confide her, will
be Father and Protector to her, and I give her
up to the care of the Blessed Virgin with all my
heart.
Our Sisters of both Convents upon this occasion
have forgotten nothing. Besides their own love for
the dear deceased they also felt very much for your
sorrow in her loss and for mine. There is some
comfort in knowing that she is to be left, with the
heart of my poor son, in the care of the Sisters.
Your judge of Nantua told me the other day that
you are at N. I was very glad, my dear Lord, to
hear it, as it will help to give you the distraction
that you ought to seek.
My Lord,
Yours, etc.
* Marie de Chantal, afterwards Mme. de Sevigne.
208 SELECTED LETTERS OF
XCII.
To a blind Sister.*
Vive tfr Jesus !
[Date not given.]
MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,
Your letter consoles me, for it tells me with
what patience you have accepted your cross, and
what profit, by your submission to the good pleasure
of God, you are drawing from it. He, it may be,
deprives you of the light of the body in order to make
you more abundantly enjoy that of the spirit, and
this is a great motive for blessing Him. As a saint
once said to one who was blind and very holy :
" There is nothing to be proud of in bodily sight; we
have it in common with the beasts ; but we may well
rejoice in God's having given us the interior light
by which we see and know His goodness"." I am
very glad that our good Sisters are so affectionately
attentive in their care of you, as this gives you
pleasure. I envy them in having the opportunity,
for, I must tell you, what will perhaps console you.
I have always set very little value on corporal sight,
being of opinion that, except for the reading of good
books and somebody's else's devotions, it is a hind
rance rather than a help in the spiritual life, so it is
almost more desirable to be without it than to enjoy
* From " Sainte Chantal : Pensees et Lettres." P. Tequi,
29, rue de Tournon, Paris. 1899.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 209
it, as in its absence the interior sight remains firmer,
more purified from external objects, and more
solidly fixed on God. This is indeed the only thing,
it seems to me, worth desiring. If, nevertheless,
you feel inspired to ask your cure of God, do so, but
always with your former resignation, and pray for
her who is all, etc.
XCIII.
To Sister Bonne Marie de Haraucourt at Nancy *
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1633.
God bless you, my dearest daughter, for the good
news you send me of the convalescence of the good
prelate. . . .
* Sister Bonne Marie de Haraucourt, whose memory is
venerated in the Visitation Order, spent her youth in the
midst of the gaieties of the Court of Lorraine without ever
reflecting that she had a Jesus to imitate or a heaven to
gain. On terms of intimacy with the Duchess Nicloe, wife
of Charles IV., this girl became intoxicated with the flattery
by which she was surrounded because of her beauty and
her wit, when of a sudden the same words that converted
the great Arsenius, " Fuge, Tace, Quiesce,"* fell upon her
ear. The arrival of St. Jane Frances in Lorraine at the
moment (1626) was propitious, and the young Court
favourite made no delay in answering the call. With
mingled feelings of joy at the thought of the great sacrifice,
and of dread of what it entailed, she offered herself to the
Saint. Soon after the arrival of Mademoiselle de Harau
court at the Visitation of Pont-a-Mousson, the flower of
the younger ladies of the Court, captivated by her example,
* Fly, be silent and be at peace.
210 SELECTED LETTERS OF
To return to yourself, whom I so dearly love.
Repose in peace in your state of spiritual poverty.
Blessed are the poor, for God will reclothe them.
How happy should we be if our hearts were stript
of all that is not God, and if we loved so to be. What
a blessed thing it is to be in obscurity, with no
devotion, no spiritual enlightenment, no consolation
from creatures. Oh, my daughter, when a soul
finds herself in this state, what can she do save hide
herself like a little fledgeling, and nestle under the
wing of her good mother Providence, remaining
hidden there, not venturing to come out for fear the
kite might capture her — this, then, is your place of
followed her there, where, regardless of the opinion of the
world, they led a life hidden with God. After seven years
of solitude and prayer, Sister Bonne Marie was sent to help
Mother P. J. Favrot in the reform of the Penitentiary at
Nancy, and she obtained leave to found there a Convent of
her own Order, with the holy desire to perpetuate in this
town, where she feared to have so much offended in the
past, a homage of unceasing reparation.
The Princes of Lorraine, and the Court, cherished and
protected the new foundation, but soon after, the horrors
of the Swedish war and the consequent departure of the
Princess, left the little Community in a most pitiable state
of destitution. Elected Superior at this critical time, Sister
Bonne Marie, by the heroism of her faith, wrought wonders
equal to those of great miracle-workers amongst the Saints.
When no longer Superior, this holy Nun, by the force of her
example, was the life and soul of her Convent at Nancy, as
she had been the joy and support of Mother Favrot at
Pont-a-Mousson. She died February 26th, 1666.
Sainte, Vol. II).
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 211
repose where there is naught to fear, and in what
better place could you be ? And what richer
clothing could you have than to be covered beneath
the shelter of the sweet providence of your heavenly
Father ? Dwell there, and be well content to possess
this singular privilege. You know, my daughter,
that you have a place in my heart from which no
one can ever dislodge you.
Yours, etc.
XCIV.
To Sister Paule Jeronyme de Monthoux, Sister
Deposed,* at Blois.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1633.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,
Your letter by which I see that you are in the
midst of suffering fills me with compassion. How
ever, the Superiorf being such as she is, I do not
think it desirable to remove you at present, for your
absence would, I fear, make matters worse.
You ought to follow faithfully the attraction you
mention in your last letter of wishing to live in
profound humility in order to imitate more perfectly
the divine Saviour who was subject not only to His
Father but to His children, to His creatures. As
you know, they did not treat Him well, but with
* In the Visitation Order the former Superior upon the
election of her successor is called " Sister Deposed."
f Mother Marie Michel Gervain was not re-elected.
212 SELECTED LETTERS OF
infinite contempt and opprobium, and all this
suffering He bore without complaint. If, then, you
have the courage to suffer in humility, sweetness,
patience, silence, all that presents itself to you, I most
truly believe that by so doing you will become holy,
that your service will be agreeable to the divine
Majesty, will work great good to the Institute, and
in particular to your own house.
These little things you mention to me, that the
Mother does not wash the dishes, and does not
sweep, I should take no notice of, except to bring
them to her notice just once in a casual way and
humbly. But when you remark important things,
tell her of them with gentleness and affection, and
try to win her heart, for if you once gain that you
can do as you will with her. Neglect nothing that
you think could further this end. With my pen as
with my whole heart I beseech you to do all you
possibly can to remedy this evil. You see how it is,
beloved daughter; the older Sisters do not like to be
the fault-finders. I gather this from their letters,
and I see also that they fail in humility and respect
towards the Mother. Certainly when a Sister, who
ever she may be, is in charge as Mother, the same
obedience and respect should be given to her as to
her predecessor. To act otherwise is to prove that
we have no virtue and that we do not, as is our duty,
regard God in the creature. So should it be when
she is in office. And when she is no longer Superior
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 213
let us cherish her as a sister, and keeping ourselves
in humility, meddle as little as possible with any
thing. If it is requisite to admonish it ought to be
done with such respect and charity that no harm
can come of it. In a word, as you would wish that
others should act towards you if you were Superior,
so do you to them. I assure you, dearest daughter,
it grieves me more than I can tell you when I know
that the newly elected Mothers and the Sisters
deposed are not in harmony; for it is clear as noon
day that this comes from a want of humility.
Wherever such a misfortune exists it is the ruin of
peace and of the observance of the Rule, and that
house is no longer held in good esteem.
May God put His hand to this reformation. If
I outlive my term of office I am resolved to keep
myself so much in the background, and so ignorant
of the affairs of the house that I can give umbrage
to no one. Should I see wrong I shall certainly
speak of it, but with all possible gentleness and
humility, and having done so, if it is not put right
I shall hold my tongue until the [Ecclesiastical]
Superior's visit, then I shall simply represent the
matter without exaggeration to him. To conclude,
dearest daughter, do everything God suggests to you
for the good of your Convent and for peace. Charity
remedies all things. I am writing a long letter to the
(Mother) Superior. Receive all I say as coming from
a heart that only desires your good, and is entirely,
Yours, etc
214 SELECTED LETTERS OP
xcv.
To M. Noel Brulart, the Commander de Sillery.*
Vive ^ Jesus !
[Date not given.]
Now see, my most dear Brother, how you have
fallen into the state to which I always feared your
great fervour would reduce you. And yet you say
that you fear to flatter yourself and are not suffici
ently on your guard against your own cowardliness.
My true Father, for the love of God make no such
reflections: for believe me all these little apprehen
sions that you are not doing enough are not half so
* Noel Brulart, Commander of the Order of St. John of
Jerusalem (better known in the correspondence of St. Jane
Frances as the Commander de Sillery), after a brilliant career
at Court, where as Ambassador to the courts of Spain and
Rome he displayed all the pride and splendour that his
great revenues enabled him to gratify, fell under the influence
of St. Vincent de Paul, and the Visitation Nuns, by whom
he was excited to a higher ambition, and in 1632, in the
fifty-fourth year of his age, giving up his worldly career,
became a Priest and consecrated his wealth to relieving the
unfortunate and furthering the interests of religion. A
generous benefactor to the Visitation Order, amongst many
other gifts he built the Church of the first monastery of
Paris (designed by Mansard), where he was buried. It is
now, alas ! the Protestant temple of the Rue St. Antoine,
near the Bastille. Commander de Sillery closed a life of
rare sanctity on the 26th Sep., 1640, in the sixty-third year
of his age. The above letter is taken from 'the "Lettres
de S'e Jeanne Fran9oise Fremoit de Chantal." Tournei
edition. J. Casterman, 1848.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 215
pleasing to God as would be your submission in
accepting the relief you require both for body and
mind. God only wants your heart. Our useless-
ness and powerlessness when lovingly accepted
through reverence and devotion to His most holy
will are more agreeable to Him than if we were
perpetually doing violence to ourselves by great
works of penance. Indeed, as you know, it is the
height of perfection to w ill in regard to ourselves as
God wills. And since He has given you a delicate
constitution He wishes you to take care of it, so do
not want to exact from it what He in His gentleness
does not ask. A mild and tranquil inaction is what
He requires of you, resting near Him, without paying
any attention whatsoever either to the suggestions
of your understanding or the movements of your
will, unless it be to say some words of love, fidelity,
and simple acquiescence offered gently and tranquilly
without effort, and without desire to feel consolation
or satisfaction in them. This practised with peace
and repose of spirit will be very agreeable to God,
more so, I think, than anything else you could do.
Bear this state then, letting it take the place of the
excessive application of mind which has reduced you
to your present condition. Just one word more.
Believe me, if instead of the four or five hours which
you spend every day on your knees you would spend
one hour — that is a quarter of an hour after rising,
another in preparation for holy Mass, the same in
2i6 SELECTED LETTERS OF
thanksgiving, and one short quarter for the evening
examen — that should be quite sufficient. Try for
the love of God, by repose of body and mind, and by
taking plenty of good nourishing food, to regain
your former strength. If I did not feel it my duty
to make this request I should not be writing to you
so soon. And I trust through your goodness and all
your fatherliness towards us that, for our consola
tion, you will not overlook anything which you feel
may help towards your recovery, or that you think
will make you stronger in the future. I have not
written to our charming and lovable dearest
daughter, * because she does not know of your illness.
A word to the good mother, who, though we
write seldom to each other, I know to be so dear
to you in Our Lord.
I pray God in His mercy to preserve you for many
years for the service of His glory and the happiness
of our Congregation. Amen.
I am, Sir,
Yours, etc.
XCVI.
To the Countess de Toulonjon, at Alonne.
Vive >|< Jesus !
ANNECY, 1634.
I see by your letter that you are in great grief,
and it touches me deeply. There is no doubt about
* Presumably Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 217
it, your troubles are great, and viewed in this world's
judgement they are of a very distressing nature.
But look up, above these low and wretched passing
things, to that blessed eternity in which is to be
found great and endless consolation, and you will be
glad that those for whom you mourn are in the
happy possession of it, and a sweet peace will fill your
heart amidst the vicissitudes of this mortal life. Ah !
when shall we give a little reflection to these truths
of faith ? When shall we, dearest daughter, relish
the sweetness of the divine will ? When shall we
see in all that happens to us the good pleasure of
God ? Whether He sends prosperity or adversity,
He intends all equally for our greater good, and
gives all with a love which to us is incomprehensible.
But, miserable creatures that we are, we turn into
poison the remedies meant for our cure. Let us not
do this any more, rather let us lovingly submit like
obedient children and co-operate with the designs
of our heavenly Father, whose only aim in sending
us affliction is to unite us more intimately to Him
self. If we so act, He will be all to us, He will take
the place of brother, son, husband, mother, of all
things. Take courage from these strengthening
thoughts. I pray Our Lord to give you a knowledge
of the rich treasures which He, in His goodness,
shuts up in the afflictions He sends us.
2i8 SELECTED LETTERS OF
XCVII.
Extract from a letter to M. Noel Brulart, the
Commander de Siller y, at Paris*
Vive >fr Jesus !
ANNECY, 1634.
The state of your mind, which you narrate with so
much simplicity, is incomparably better and safer
than if you were overflowing with consolations and
sensible love of God. This interior peace, this
stability in God, these lights, which although slight,
transient, and devoid of definite reasoning, yet
retain the soul in the state in which God has placed
her, are all infallible marks that He reigns in you,
and give great hope that His goodness desires to
lead you in a wholly intellectual way to a state of
great purity and simplicity; hence you should, I
think, my dearest brother, seek no other devotion
than looking unto God purely and simply, and
letting Him accomplish His will in you. This
Divine Saviour being the only object of your affec
tions and desires, the solitary pleasure of your heart,
all that He will accomplish in you will be for His
greater glory, and for your own sanctification. Be,
then, as content to be powerless, idle, dry, and arid
* Taken from the " Life of Noel Brulart de Sillery,"
Paris, at the Monastery of the Visitation of Holy Mary,
Rue d'Enfer-Saint-Michel, 72. 1843.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 2X9
before God, as if you were actively at work, and in
the enjoyment of His gifts of devotion and content
ment. As all consists in union with God one state
ought to be as pleasing to you as another. Age and
health no longer permitting you to be active, you
will apparently have to spend the remainder of your
days in this heavenly exercise by which your mind
will be renewed. So will you be uninterruptedly
employed in the love and repose of God, and I
believe that the fruit which will result therefrom
will enrich your soul, give glory to His divine
Majesty, and even edification to your neighbour, for
this salutary exercise teaches contempt of all earthly
things, and is a great proof to the world of the true
piety and happiness that are to be so completely
found in God.
XCVIII.
To the Countess de Toulonjon.
Vive t%4 Jesus !
1634.
You wish, my very dear daughter, to have in
writing my desires in your regard. Here they are.*
* These counsels had been given verbally by St. Jane
Frances to Madame de Toulonjon at the time of her sojourn
at Annecy, where she came to pass the first months of her
widowhood, and the Saint at the request of her daughter
wrote them down for her so that she might be able often
to read them over, and thus more faithfully adhere to her
mother's pious recommendations.
220 SELECTED LETTERS OF
The strongest longing I have is that you should live
as a true Christian widow, modest in dress, reserved
in action, and above all in conversation. On this
account you must avoid having to do with vain and
worldly young men. If you do otherwise, my
dearest daughter, although by the grace of God I
hold your virtue to be unapproachable and feel
surer of it than of my own, it might easily be sullied,
and your conduct would surely be criticised when it
became known that you receive such persons and
take pleasure in their society. I beseech of you,
trust me in this. Your honour and my own and my
peace of mind are involved. I know well that there
is no living in this world without some sharing in
the pleasures it offers, but, believe me, you will never
find stable enjoyment save in God, in virtue, and in a
just and reasonable attention to the education of
your children, to the management of their affairs,
and to the care of your household. If you seek it
elsewhere you will have a thousand tribulations of
heart and mind. Well do I know this. I would
not have you refuse the lawful pleasure that is to be
found in the upright conversation of the virtuous
and in their visits, although in the circumstances in
which God has placed you it would be desirable to
receive visitors but rarely. In a word, dearest child,
for God's glory, for the love and reverence you owe
to the memory of your dear husband, for the preserva
tion of your good name, and the edification of your
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 221
daughter, who, without doubt, models herself upon
you, you must keep your inclinations a little in
check, submitting them to God, to reason, to your
own well-being and to that of your children. You
must also bear in mind what is due and becoming
to your birth and your condition and to the comfort
of your neighbours. You will be greatly helped in
this by faithfully following the little practices of
devotion of which I have spoken to you, and which
I will now again set down.
Upon awakening in the morning, turn your
thoughts to God present everywhere, and place your
heart and your whole being in the hands of His
goodness. Then think briefly on the good that it
will be in your power to do that day, and the evil you
should avoid, above all on that defect to which you
are most subject, resolving by the grace of God to
do good and avoid evil. Having risen from bed,
kneel on your bed, or elsewhere, and adore God from
the depths of your soul, thanking His goodness for
all the graces and benefits that He has bestowed
upon you, for a moment's reflection will show you
how you are surrouded by His mercies and what
a special care He has had of you. This thought
ought indeed to touch your heart, which offer Him
anew with your resolutions, affections, thoughts,
words and works of that day, in union with that
sacred offering which our divine Saviour made of
Himself upon the tree of the cross, and ask Him for
222 SELECTED LETTERS OF
His holy grace and assistance to guide you through
the day. Beg afterwards for His holy blessing with
that of the Blessed Virgin, of your good angel and
your holy patrons, saluting them by a simple inclina
tion of the head and an interior act of reverence.
All this can be done in the space of two Paters and
Aves. Next, do not waste time over your toilette.
As far as possible assist at holy Mass every day as
attentively and devoutly as you can by using such
holy considerations as are taught in Philothea.* If
you cannot be present at Mass hear it spiritually
as the same book teaches. Philothea ought to be
your book of predilection and your spiritual guide.
Either during holy Mass, if you cannot give other
time, or at some other hour, withdraw a little into
some quiet place every morning, and make about a
quarter of an hour's prayer from your heart, placing
yourself in God's presence, or at His sacred feet, or
at those of the most holy Virgin, as a daughter before
her father or her dear mother, and converse with the
divine Majesty in humble, filial confidence. Do this
either by reflecting on some mystery of Faith, or in
accordance with some need you may have, or as
your mind suggests. Conclude all by an act of
great desire of loving and pleasing God, renewing
your holy resolutions and invoking His grace. Let
your chief care be to do everything with purity of
* " The Introduction to a Devout Life," by St. Francis
de Sales, Chapter XIV. of the second part.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 223
intention, and often offer up your actions to God by
holy affections, frequently calling to mind His good
ness as He will suggest or your own heart will
dictate.
Read every day for a quarter or half an hour some
spiritual book, preferably Philothea. Before supper,
either walking about or retiring apart, place your
self in the hands of God by some holy aspirations.
Before going to bed examine your conscience and,
prostrate before God, adore, thank, and invoke Him,
offering Him your soul. If you are able, add the
Litany of Our Lady, your attendants making the
responses. Communicate at least on each first
Sunday of the month and on the chief feasts, such
as those of Our Lord, and our Lady, and the feast
of St. Joseph, to whom I wish you to be devout.
Try to subdue your passions and bring them and
your inclinations under the law of reason and of the
holy will of God: otherwise you will never have
anything but trouble and uneasiness of soul. God
permits or sends to His predestined children, for
their good and as a means of bringing them to His
glorious beatitude, the afflictions and contradictions
of this life. My dearest daughter, if you are so
happy as sweetly and patiently to accept all that
He sends, then be assured you will begin to taste
even here on earth something of the delights of the
blessed eternity of glory. But for this you must
serve God willingly and love Him supremely, seeking
224 SELECTED LETTERS OF
His pleasure, choosing His divine will through holy
obedience in preference to your own will, desires, or
inclinations.
May God in His sweet goodness grant you this
grace, dearest daughter; I unceasingly implore it of
Him from my heart, which is that of one who loves
you as her own with her entire capacity for loving.
Amen.
XCIX.
To Sister Marie Aimee de Rabutin,* Mistress of
Novices at Annecy.
Vive ^ Jesus !
PARIS, 1635.
DAUGHTER DEAR,
You attribute everything to your negligence !
Accept the good that comes to you, and when God
withdraws Himself do not run after Him. You are
always doing His will provided you keep yourself
* Marie Aimee de Rabutin possessed all the caustic wit
for which the de Rabutins were distinguished, and had no
other thought than of pleasure and of her independence,
until St. Jane Frances won her to Christ. " Make haste,
my daughter," she said to her, "for God is the enemy of
delay." From the entrance of Mademoiselle de Rabutin
into the Monastery of Annecy (1624) her fervour was with
out bounds, and were it not for obedience her austerities
would have shortened her life. When she was elected
Superior at Thonon St. Jane Frances said to the outsister
who came to fetch her : ' ' Make the most of the time your
new Superior rules you, for you have never had and perhaps
never will have her equal." She governed several monasteries
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 225
under His hand without desiring anything whatso
ever save to do His will. These doubts against
Faith that you tell me of He permits so that you may
make frequent acts of this virtue. For you see, my
daughter, He only sends temptations to souls whom
He intends to raise to high perfection. All the
doubts and fears lest you may have consented come
from the evil spirit. Pay no heed to them, unless
to say, " Get thee behind me, Satan, for I am at
peace in God."
C.
To M. Noel Brulart, Commander de Sillery, at
Paris.
Vive ^ Jesus !
VALENCE,
2nd July, 1636.
MY MOST HONOURED, BELOVED, AND DEAREST
FATHER,
I certainly have no wish to delay in answering
your kind and cordial letter, which gives such a
lucid account of the finale of this wicked affair*, and
and died in 1678. Her praises are summed up in these
words of St. Jane Frances: " When once Mother Marie
Aiinee returns to Annecy she must not be taken away
again, for although she is my relative, I cannot help saying
that she has always been a living rule and a model of perfect
observance." (Archives of the Visitation, Annecy.)
* We quote the following extract from the " History of
the Foundation of the Visitation Order " :
226 SELECTED LETTERS OF
above all of the good odour of those little servants
of the Lord, our Sisters of the Faubourg, and of the
reparation made to them. Oh ! how good God is !
and how prompt in coming by ways which confound
the prudence of the worldly-wise to the succour of
the innocent. For the greatness of His mercies may
He be for ever blessed ! You must have been
deeply moved in the goodness of your heart on
witnessing such a marked and fatherly interposition
of Providence in this grave crisis. Truly happy are
the souls who repose entirely in the pitying and
loving bosom of this heavenly Father. You cannot
think what this grace has wrought in my heart
" A person of good social position had, it is said, borrowed
a very large sum of money from the Second monastery of
the Visitation at Paris, promising immediately to send a
written acknowledgement of this loan, and to repay it at
the end of a fortnight. But upon receiving the money he
at once absconded. Informed of his departure, Mother
Marie Agnes Le Roy took active steps to recover the
money, which was the entire capital of her community.
The immediate result of her inquiries was that the affair
became public, and the friends of the accused, who were
very numerous, all took his part and spread the grossest
calumnies against the victims of his treachery. But God
taking charge of their defence providentially brought back
to Paris the culprit, who thus fell into the hands of those
who were seeking him. He made restitution, in so far as
to acknowledge with confusion that he had taken the money,
intending to speculate with it, but he appears to have been
unable to restore to the Convent the entire sum."
The Nuns claimed no other punishment for him than the
avowal of his discreditable conduct.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 227
towards God, whom we can never sufficiently thank
for it, and towards you, my very dear Father, for
the incomparable assistance which you have given
these poor daughters of mine. It is quite impossible
to express to you what I feel, and always shall feel,
for the succour and the support in all our necessities
which God has given us through you is a priceless
treasure from which we draw both spiritual and
temporal profit. May the sweet Saviour bless you
with His richest graces and recompense you with
His divine love. My poor Sisters needed this
experience so that they might learn to trust them
selves entirely to your paternal care. They have
written to me expressing their gratitude and begging
of me to help them to return you fitting thanks. It
is a sweet Providence, I cannot but think, that has
permitted the evil act of that miserable man, so
that by means of it a more complete union should
be established between our two monasteries (of
Paris), and that Our Lord should have made use of
you as the bond of union, for they themselves
recognize this and write of it to me. God be blessed !
This story deserves to be recorded for posterity.
But if it is possible I should be glad to know every
circumstance of it in detail, for from certain things
that have been written to me, it seems as if this man
took the money to invest it for the benefit of our
Sisters. I want to know the truth about this, and
for what object it was confided to him. My Sister,
228 SELECTED LETTERS OF
the Superior of the Faubourg, tells me that on Sun
day evening when I had said adieu to her, M. de
Lamoignon took fifty-four thousand francs of it to
buy an office for his son. I am asking Sister to write
to me about this matter, for you must not trouble
to do so . . . .
We have visited our houses of Pont-Saint-Esprit,
Avignon, Montpellier, Aries, Aix, and Marseilles,
where certainly everything is blessed, and in all of
which the observance is kept with great exactitude.
It is most consoling to see on all sides how the
Sisters love and esteem their vocation. All these
houses have excellent Superiors. When at Aix we
saw those of Digne, Draguignan, Grasse, and
Forcalquier. The four are invaluable Mothers
capable of putting their hands to anything in which
divine Providence may employ them, and of render
ing all manner of good service to God and the
Institute.
We also met at Aix the Superiors of Sisteron, Apt,
and Toulon, humble and virtuous souls, but not
possessing the useful talents of the first four. In
returning from Provence I stopped at our house of
Crest, where I again found very good Sisters with a
young Mother of thirty, but of a capable mind,
judicious and zealous. She keeps straight to the
grand road of the Rule, " for fear," she says, " of
going astray." She gave me great satisfaction.
Now I am at Valence, where it appears to me the
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 229
community is feeling somewhat the effects of having
had young Superiors for eight years in succession;
nevertheless they keep to the exterior observance
and manifest an ardent desire to profit by our stay.
I have not yet spoken with them, but I intend to do
so. The Superior is good, gentle, capable, and
willing, but is wanting in experience; this, please
God, will come. These Sisters are in need of one who
is firm and experienced. I hope, as next year will
be that of their election, that God will look after
them in this matter according to their needs.
Pardon my bad writing, but I forget half I wish
to say. We went from Marseilles to Sainte-Baume,
a place of great devotion.
Always your very humble, obedient, and obliged
daughter, and servant in Our Lord.
GI.
To Mother Marie Agnes Le Roy, Superior of the
Second Monastery of Paris.
Vive >|< Jesus !
VALENCE, 1636.
MY WELL-BELOVED AND DEAREST DAUGHTER,
For this indeed you are to me in so peculiar and
intimate a way that no dearer term can I add to it,
and no other feeling than this loving one could my
heart entertain towards you, seeing the way in
which you look upon the true and solid lights and
230 SELECTED LETTERS OF
affections of heart that God has given you. My
daughter, I am quite enchanted with your letter.*
I cannot keep myself from kissing it and pressing it
to my heart, for every word of it from beginning to
end has deeply moved me. I shall carefully treasure
it. Nothing else have I to say, my true daughter,
if not that you ought, in order fully and worthily to
correspond with such graces, to keep your heart
firmly set on God, and casting out all that is not
He, jealously and faithfully preserve the rare
treasure which the divine Goodness has confided to
your hands. Spread the good odour all you can in
the hearts of your daughters, and may everyone
who comes in contact with you feel that the virtues
of the crucified and despised Saviour go out from
you. Recommend my heart with your own to Him
and let them be as one in His divine love.
* This letter, which so charmed St. Jane Frances, con
tained an account of the intimate feelings of Mother Marie
Agnes Le Roy, when she found herself under the calumny
spoken of in the preceding letter to the Commander de
Sillery. To quote from her letter: " It seems to me," she
says, " that it is a particular grace to have been chosen to
bear this humiliation. Our Lord is so good that He gives
me very great pleasure and contentment in it, because it
shows His special love for me, and seeing that it has all
happened to imprint in my heart the spirit of lowliness and
humility I am greatly consoled and incited to redouble my
little efforts to procure Him glory. . . .
"Ah, my dear mother, how wise such occurrences make
us, and what fruit they bear !" (History of the Foundation
of the Second Monastery of Paris,)
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 231
CII.
To Sister Anne Louise de Marin dc Saint Michel,
Superior at Forcalquier.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY,
April $th, 1637.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,
May our most gentle Saviour in His goodness
fill our souls with the merits of His holy Passion !
Alas ! my daughter, if you knew me such as I really
am you would not desire many years of life for me
in this valley of tears, but rather that God in His
merciful goodness should soon take me to Himself.
Still less should you think that sanctity was ripe in
me, for truly all I can discover within my soul is very
great poverty and misery. To speak quite in con
fidence to you and to you alone: it has pleased the
divine Goodness to deprive me of all light and con
solation, and to let me be overwhelmed with dark
ness and affliction. In a word, I am she for whom
our good Mother has asked you to pray, and I
beseech you to do it with all the compassionate
affection and the loving charity which God has
put into your heart for me. For indeed, dearest
daughter, I am in sore need of your prayers ; no other
desire am I conscious of save that God may hold me
in His blessed hands and so keep me from offending
232 SELECTED LETTERS OF
Him. Tc£do and suffer all, for and according to His
good pleasure, is enough for me. I tell you all quite
openly in order that you may speak of me to the
Heart of our divine Saviour, whom I bless and thank
for the graces that He continues to bestow upon
you, with the growth of that intimate realization of
His divine presence. Oh, how precious, how glorious
is this grace ! Yet this gift of His presence is not
the same as His presence in the divine Sacrament,
where His Sacred Body and Soul and Divinity all in
the most real sense dwell with us, and remain with us
in our miserable tabernacles until the species is
consumed. Nevertheless in the gift of the presence
of God this eternal Truth remains in us by essence,
by power, and by grace, and to be conscious of this
is an exceptional favour. You will understand this
better by reading the books that treat of it. In the
" Treatise of Divine Love " I think you will find it
admirably explained. What I now tell you I have
learnt there, or heard in sermons. Oh ! what a
happiness for a soul to possess her God in peace, and
to be possessed entirely by Him ! I am surprised
that what I say contents you and gives you peace,
but it is because our good God makes all things
work to good for those who love Him.
Once again I beseech of you to recommend me to
His divine mercy, and I pray that in you He may
perfect His rare graces. All you have to do is to
leave yourself in the Jiands of this heavenly Wor]^-
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 233
man, and to be very faithful in paying no heed to
what passes in you, but always keep the eye of your
mind fixed on God. Of a truth I desire myself to
be very attentive to this point, but my mind is so
restless that I am not able to do so, and this is a
constant trouble to me. See how I give you all my
confidence. Will you not also tell me your thoughts,
and it will be a consolation and a profit to me, if
God so wills. May He bless you and all your Sisters
to whose devout prayers I recommend myself. Those
amongst us are most blessed who long for the holy
perfection of their vocation. Divine Providence
when it sees well will increase their number, neither
will it fail to provide all things necessary for the
maintenance of those who leave themselves in its
care and only think of conforming to its good
pleasure.
Believe me, always yours entirely in our Lord.
May He be blessed.
Palm Sunday. On this day Holy Church bids us
sing,
" The Saviour comes in the multitude of His mercies."
May our souls eternally praise Him. Amen.
234 SELECTED LETTERS OF
cm.
To the Abbe de Vaux.*
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1637.
MY VERY DEAR AND VERY HON. BROTHER,
May the sacred love of our divine Saviour be
our eternal life ! The little preface or pretended
excuse in your letter is not quite in keeping with the
simple confidence with which we have resolved to
treat each other, which I believe God desires and
ratifies, and with the profession you make of wishing
to live in the entire simplicity and candour of the
Visitation spirit, which one certainly cannot but
see in you. I bless God for it with all my heart, and
know not how to thank Him for His infinite Goodness
in having given such a friend to our Congregation,
and such a support to the new plant which Providence
has set in the garden of the church of Angers. Now
I say all this straight out from my heart; will you
not receive it, then, in this wise, my very dear
brother, and unite with me in praising God, for to
Him we owe it all. He is the sole author of all good
things, hence should all glory be referred to Him.
* Guy Lanier Abbe de Vaux not only put his own house
at the disposal of the Sisters foundresses of the Visitation
at Angers, but continued in after years to give them
constant proofs of his paternal affection. He was one of
the most virtuous ecclesiastics of the seventeenth century.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 235
Your whole bearing with our Sisters is extremely
pleasing to me. Sister Mary Euphrasia Turpin has
a good heart, a fine intelligence, and loves the Rule,
which I advise her closely to follow, above all in the
guidance of her Novices. Will you not also give
her this advice ? You will find her pliant, open, and
easy to convince.
We must let Mother Claire Madeleine de Pierre
complete her three years,* and I hope by that time
divine Providence will have provided a successor.
It is a very serious matter in a new foundation when
a superior is often ill, and cannot follow the common
life. By seeking pretexts, without necessity, to dis
pense herself, however little, from the exercises, she
does great harm to herself and her community. She
who ought to be a model of good example to her
Sisters. How miserable and dangerous is this false
liberty. May God preserve us from it ! What
responsibility have not such superiors on their
consciences, and what an account they will have to
render, not only for their own faults but for those
which have been committed in imitation of them,
and for impeding their own perfection and that of
those under their care. This is far-reaching, my
dear brother, so speak of it occasionally, I beg of
you. A true daughter of the Visitation is a great
treasure — may God give us all the grace to become
* Each election in the Visitation Monasteries is for a
period of three years.
236 SELECTED LETTERS OF
such. You do not tell me if the Sisters are still in
your house. How good you are to them ! I pray
God to reward you with the glorious gift of His
eternal City. To Him you owe much for having
given you the heart and the generous soul you
possess, wherein there is but the one desire, to serve
Him. Go forward, dear brother, forward, always
advancing and increasing in the purity and perfection
of divine love, and may God give you the grace faith
fully to correspond to the great favours He bestows
upon you. This is, I know, your great wish, and I
seem to see our Blessed Father looking down upon
you as one of His most cherished children. God
knows how I esteem you in His sight. But alas !
my own poverty and misery are beyond description.
May God diminish them for the sake of His glory.
I trust to His Goodness and to the prayers that are
offered for my needs. . . .
There is no doubt that this difficulty of not being
able to make considerations in prayer leads to a
more simple form of prayer, and a soul thus led
ought to adhere to this way to which God is un
doubtedly calling her, however faint may be the
call, and although the calm and facility of dwelling
reverently before Him which it brings be but slight.
Neither ought she to forsake it because of her
indigent state nor because of her wanderings of
mind, but remain patiently and tranquilly before
Our Lord, not giving willing consent to distractions.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE GHANTAL 237
but when worried by them just say from time to
time words of submission, abandonment, confidence,
and love of the divine will, and give up discoursing
with the understanding; indeed it is useless to split
our heads trying to do so, for it will be of no avail.
The great secret of prayer is to follow our attrac
tion and to go to it in good faith.
A soul who wishes to live in the presence of God
should be very faithful to the practice of virtue, to
great purity of heart, and to an unconditional sur
render of herself to the divine will. When she sees
herself walking in this way she need fear nothing,
but if she has great consolations and facilities in
prayer without the practice of these virtues, she
certainly ought to fear. Truly this manner of prayer
has in its simplicity a wonderful power of leading
souls to a total despoliation of themselves. Yet
they usually enjoy neither relish nor sensible
devotion.
Yours, etc.
CIV.
To a great Servant of God.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY,
December, 1637.
MY VERY DEAR MOTHER,
May Our Lord fill our souls with the con
solations and with the merits of His most holy
Nativity.
238 SELECTED LETTERS OF
It is about a month since I received your letter
^f November gih in which I read your true goodness
and loving care of me in my never-ending trials.
However, by the grace of God they are somewhat
less acute than when I last wrote. At that time
Our Lord had sent me a great sorrow in the death of
the virtuous Mother (de Chat el), who is a serious
loss to me. It seems as if God wishes to deprive me
of all help both of nature and of grace. This our
Blessed Father prophecied to me before I was a
Religious. With all my heart I adore the most holy
will of God, and the only good I desire is its com
plete fulfilment. May I have the grace never to
resist it. If it is perfectly wrought out in me how
happy I shall be. Pray for this, dearest Mother,
I beg of you. Strange to say, when writing to you
I can never altogether keep back my tears, though
otherwise I rarely weep, unless perchance when I
reflect upon those precious virtues* of which I feel
* The following extract from a letter of St. Francis to
Mme. de Chantal, March 28th, 1612, tells us what these
virtues were: he says, " But let us come to the interior trial
which you write to me about. It is in reality a certain
insensibility which deprives you of the enjoyment not only
of consolations and inspirations but also of faith, hope, and
charity. You have them all the time, and in a very good
condition, but you do not enjoy them: in fact you are like
an infant whose guardian takes away from him the adminis
tration of all his goods in such sort that, while in reality all
is his, yet he handles and seems to possess no more than
what he requires for living, and as St. Paul says in this,
' He diflereth nothing from a servant though he be lord
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 239
deprived, and thoughts against them rise up within
me that are like daggers to my heart. Yet I am
conscious that these divine treasures exist, but where
I know not, and it seems to me that I do at least
desire them and would willingly suffer anything in
order to have the enjoyment of them. My mind
pictures untold delights for souls who possess them :
were I to dwell on this thought I should be parched
up with sorrow, because I care for nothing in com
parison with them. Could I be so fortunate as to
die for Holy Church, nay, even for the least article
of our Faith, how happy I should be; for, thank
God, there is no point that I doubt about, though it
seems to me that I am destitute of all faith.
To tell you further, dearest Mother, shortly after
my last letter to you it pleased the divine Goodness
somewhat to relieve me of the great oppression and
desolation from which I was then suffering, by
giving me a sensible feeling of the divine presence.
I have already told you that I have never been
altogether without some slight and almost imper
ceptible feeling of the presence of God, by which in
the midst of a storm of troubles and temptations my
spirit never wholly loses its tranquility, and as
long as I maintain myself in that presence my soul
of all things.' In the same way, my dear daughter, God
does not want you to have the management of your faith,
your hope, or of your charity, nor to enjoy them except
just to live, and to use them on occasions of pure necessity."
240 SELECTED LETTERS OF
is calm notwithstanding the piteous struggle. When
it first pleased our Lord to give me some relief in the
terrible temptations under which I laboured for so
many years after I made my Vow,* I received the
grace of a simple consciousness of His presence at
prayer, and remaining in it I used to surrender myself
up to Him and become absorbed and at rest in Him.
This favour has not been withdrawn from me, not
withstanding that by my infidelities I have often
hindered it ; yielding to apprehensions that I should
be useless in this state, and, wanting to do something
on my own part, I used to spoil all. 1 am still often
subject to this same fear, not, however, when at
prayer, but at other exercises; 1 am always wanting
to make acts, or to do something, and yet I feel that
by so doing I am taking myself from my centre —
that this looking straight at God alone is the only
remedy for me, the sole relief in all the troubles,
temptations, and accidents of life. If I followed my
attraction, I should certainly never seek any other
* On September 2nd, 1604, Saint Jane Frances made a
vow of perpetual chastity and of obedience to St. Francis
de Sales, from this time until her death she suffered from
temptations against Faith in varying intensity. On
Oct. 4th of this same year (1604), St. Francis wrote to her,
" You ask a remedy for the temptations against faith which
assail you. Never argue with them, but do as the children
of Israel, who threw the bones of the Paschal Lamb into
the fire without attempting to break them," and again:
" Oh, my daughter, it is a good sign when the enemy urges
so vehemently from without, it is a sign he is not within."
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 241
way than this, for when I think to fortify my soul
by reflections and discourses, or by acts of resigna
tion, for all of which I have to do violence to self, I
only succeed in exposing myself to fresh troubles
and temptations, and finding therein nought but
dryness and dissatisfaction, I have perforce to return
to this simple surrender to God. Apparently He
wishes thus to show me that He desires on this
subject a total cutting off of the activities and work
ings of my mind, so that His activity and not mine
should undertake the care of all. Mayhap He
requires this of me not only on the subject of Faith
but on all others as well, for in every trouble and in
every spiritual exercise to look at Him is all that He
seems to want of me, and the more unwaveringly I
do so the better I find myself, and the quicker my
troubles pass. But the activity of my mind is such
that I am always in need of comfort and encourage
ment. Alas ! my dearest Father often spoke to me
of this. Yet recalling the past, I see that my
sufferings at that time were not the troubles I now
endure. Then it was only my distracted prayers
and such-like trifles that troubled and sometimes
deceived me, for which I am not sorry, as there was
no real danger ; God was there, and I had only to
keep myself steadfast to Him. But in my present
trials I am as one always on the edge of a
precipice.
Our late Mother (Peronne de Chatel) was an
16
242 SELECTED LETTERS OF
, . 1 r—
immense help to me, for she taught me to walk with
simplicity, firmly and fearlessly in the presence of
God, and that sufficed for all. The more completely
I am stript of all sentiment, all relish, all repose in
God, the more do I seem to gain strength and peace
of soul, and the more clearly do I see that there is
nothing to lean upon but God alone, purely, and
simply. One of our Sisters* is drawn by this abso
lute detachment to a degree that it is almost impos
sible to surpass, and our good Mother (de Chatel)
told me that God gave this Sister to me as an example
to follow. She wrote at the request of our late
Mother an account of her interior state to which I
have added in detail. She is a soul of great virtue
and her detachment is marvellous. Speaking of
this, some days ago, Our Lord gave me a light so
vivid and set it before me in a manner so luminous
that I saw without a shadow of doubt that I must
no longer cast my eyes upon myself about any
thing whatsoever, nor even question my Beloved,
but in all simplicity and repose become absorbed
in Him. Now since thj.s day of alleviation it seems
to me that I have kept myself more continuously
in God's presence, and I have but seldom had
those violent temptations — only two or three
times.
This is, I think, all that I can give myself time to
say at present. If I have not expressed myself well
* Sister Anne Marie Rosset.
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 243
to this distinguished servant of God you will not
fail to understand me and will tell me what he
says.
Yours, etc.
CV.
To Mother Marie Aimee de Rabutin, Superior at
Thonon.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY,
October i$th, 1639.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,
May God be always blessed in all things and
may He be particularly blessed for the good health
you tell me you enjoy, and for the care you take to
do all that is prescribed to keep you well. I am
sending you a box of lozenges. Take them as
directed besides the other remedies. I beg of you
to take them regularly, for they are sweet, not un
pleasant, and very inexpensive. Do not, I beseech
of you, undertake any extra fasting nor abstain more
than you can easily manage. Continue cheerfully
to make use of the little alleviations that are settled
for you, and any others that your weakness may
require, just as you would see that others did. Drink
your wine, at least half your portion, for your wine-
cups are very small.* Neither rise earlier nor go to
bed later than the others, nor undertake any
laborious work, for I know your health would not
* These wine-cups held about two small glasses.
244 SELECTED LETTERS OF
stand it. Take the discipline only on Fridays.
Possess your spirit in peace and calm, and pass gently
through this miserable life, not taking too much to
heart the faults of your sisters, nor their little ways
of worrying you. Do your best amongst them, and
leave the rest to God. Pray, and get prayers, that
it may please God to turn the miseries and calamities
of this world to His glory and to the salvation of His
people, and do not forget me. If you would like me
to write to Sister J. Antoine I will do so. However,
she must be kept to the promises she made to me—
tell her that I have spoken to you about them and
have asked you to let me know how she is going on.
May God be your support. Blessed be He and His
holy Mother. Amen.
CVI.
To St. Vincent de Paul at Pans.
ON THE ARRIVAL OF THE LAZARIST FATHERS AT
ANNECY.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1640.
MY VERY DEAR FATHER,
Praised be our divine Saviour who for His
great glory and the salvation of many souls has
brought your dear children happily here. Their
coming is a subject of thanksgiving to Our Lord from
everyone, but most of all from the Bishop of Geneva
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 245
and my self , to whom it is an unbounded consolation.
We look upon them as our true brothers, with whom,
in simple openheartedness and confidence we are as
one, and they too feel this. I have had a conversa
tion with them, and truly they speak as if they were
daughters of the Visitation. All are full of goodness
and candour. The third and the fifth need a little
help to get out of themselves. I shall tell their
Superior, M. Escarts, of it. He is a Saint, and a
man truly equal to his charge. I have given them
each a practice of virtue. With God's help, for our
mutual consolation and to obey you, I will always
lovingly continue so to do, for indeed, my dear
Father, there is much to speak of to these dear souls.
The good Father N. has manifested his own diffi
culties to me with the utmost simplicity. He has
an upright heart and a good judgement, but it will
be difficult for him to persevere. I have begged of
him to put aside all thought of either leaving or
staying, and to apply himself in good earnest to do
God's work, leaving himself trustfully to His Provi
dence. I wish he could settle down, as he is a soul
of great promise. In fact they are all charming and
have already given great edification in this town
during the three or four days that they have been
here. Their spirit is very like that of my dear and
good Father.
246 SELECTED LETTERS OF
CVII.
To Sister Claire -Marie-Franfoise de Cmance*
at Gray.
Vive ^ Jesus !
ANNECY, 1640.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,
Your letter fills me with tender compassion,
but it also gives me very real comfort, seeing how
joyfully God is enabling you to make your passage
* This religious belonged to the ancient family of the
Counts of Berghen, Champlitte, and Belvoir. At the age
of thirteen, upon the foundation of the Monastery of
Champlitte, she was taken there and given the title of
Foundress. Her arrival was the signal for a great ovation.
Cannons boomed forth their welcome, while the Magistrates
harangued, and the people cheered her, acclaiming the great
and good deeds of her ancestors. In this wise did the child
enter into her new life of poverty, obedience, and chastity.
Soon after her entrance the war between France and Spain
obliged the Community to leave Champlitte for the little
town of Gray. Here fresh trials awaited it; the plague
broke out, and so awful were its ravages that the town was
soon a veritable sepulchre. Yet none of the terrors that
surrounded her shook the resolution of the brave child.
Full of confidence in God she remained calm and joyful
in the midst of unheard-of privations.
The fame of her courage and her virtue went abroad and
even before her profession she was the object of public
veneration, for the people loved her and claimed her as their
own heroine. At the age of sixteen, Sister Claire-Marie-
Fran9oise de C usance made her solemn vows and became
the Saint Stanislaus Kostka of the Visitation. She died
two years after her profession, having spent those eighteen
ST. JAxNE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 247
through this life to Him. You will love and adore
Him in an eternity of glory, for this is the only good
that is worth setting our hearts upon. Here we are
all regretting your absence, and envying you your
happiness, but our regret and our envy are more
than balanced by our gratitude to God who is taking
you so mercifully to Himself. Oh ! how hard and
long is this life for those who yearn to be with Him !
years of life more like an angel than a woman, and having
enjoyed many supernatural communications. No sooner
was her death known, than the Mayor ordered all the bells
of the town of Gray to be tolled, on which the inhabitants
at once announced their intention of assisting at the
obsequies with torch-lights to honour not so much her
birth as her high virtue. The Visitation Monastery had
not as yet a cemetery of their own, so the religious of the
Annunciation, at their urgent request were given the holy
remains, which for some days they exposed to public
veneration. Numerous were the graces obtained during
those days by the devout inhabitants through the mediation
of the holy nun. Her portrait was circulated in Flanders
where [like Sceur Therese of Lisieux in our day] she was
venerated, though not yet on the Altars of the Church.
Fourteen days after the obsequies had been celebrated a
religious of the Annunciation wrote to the Mother Superior
of the Visitation at Gray. " This dear deceased is still quite
beautiful and her body quite flexible, the veins are to be
seen in her person as in a living body, which proves to us
that it was truly the temple of a pure and angelic soul.
Several persons have noticed a fragrant perfume exhaling
from the coffin, and others have received extraordinary
graces and interior illumination when praying beside it."
(Taken from Vol. IX. of the "Lives of the Sisters of the
Visitation.")
248 SELECTED LETTERS OF
You must do, my daughter, as your good Mother
desires about your state of health.
Most earnestly do I beg of you to ask God that I
may live and die in His grace and according to His
good pleasure. Do not refuse me this favour, and
when you see Him do not forget to speak to Him
about me. Be kind to me in this.
I remain,
Yours affectionately in His love. Amen
CVIII.
To Sister Jeanne Benigne Gojos,* Lay Sister at
Turin.
Vive >J< Jesus !
ANNECY, 1640.
MY DAUGHTER MOST DEAR,
Your few words explaining your interior occu
pation have made your soul as clear to me as if it lay
open before mine eyes. All that passes within you
and without you is God's own work.
Regarding your interior life, my advice is: Give
God a free hand to do as He likes, while you look
on in loving simplicity. And as to the exterior:
* Sister Jeanne Benigne Gojos died at Turin, in the odour
of sanctity, November 5th, 1692. Her life was written
under the title of " The Charm of Divine Love," and it
possesses all the beauty of true mysticism. It is hoped
that one day she may be raised to the Altars of the Church.
St. Jane Frances said of her: " From the day of her pro
fession she seemed no longer to be on earth."
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 249
Practise virtue by making faithful use from moment
to moment of the opportunities provided by divine
Providence. But it is superfluous for me to offer
advice, as the heart that is governed by God needs
no other guidance. Beseech of Him in His goodness,
my dear daughter, to accomplish in us His holy
will, without let or hindrance on our part.
Yours, etc.
CIX.
To the Sister Louise- Angelique de la Fayette* at the
First Monastery of Paris.
Vive tfa Jesus !
ANNECY, 1641.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,
Though not personally acquainted with you,
none the less do I know and dearly love you. Your
letter shows me quite clearly the state of your mind,
* Marie-Louise Motier de la Fayette became maid of
honour to Anne of Austria at the age of fourteen. Her
beauty and the promise of great ability for which she was
afterwards so remarkable attracted the King Louis XIII.
His devotion to her which lasted all his life was that of a
brother to a most dear sister. He turned to her in his
troubles and relied and acted on her advice. When at the
age of nineteen she decided to retire into the Monastery
of the Visitation, for which she had not ceased to long during
her short life at Court, the King opposed her vocation, but
seeing that her happiness was bound up with it he at last
gave his consent. Yet he never ceased to visit this devoted
friend who continued to exercise over him a wise and
salutary influence. Richelieu, jealous of her power with
250 SELECTED LETTERS OF
and the source of your trouble and embarrassment.
It comes from your over-eagerness in seeking to
arrive at the perfection you desire, instead of
patiently and submissively awaiting the will of Him
who alone can give it to you. Now if you wish
truly to acquire the spirit of your vocation you will
have to correct this fault, and carry out whatever
instructions are given you, gently and faithfully,
repressing your desires and your thoughts in order,
the King, was sensibly relieved by her entrance into religion.
However, hearing one day that Louis had spent three hours
at the Rue St. Antoine with this young religious, he was
thoroughly frightened, and sending for Pere Caussin, the
King's confessor, he said : " I am greatly astonished that the
King has made such a mystery to me of this visit. It has
caused a great sensation, and the public are persuaded that
the consequences of it will be serious. My friends have
come to offer to defend me at the peril of their lives."
" What can you mean, Monseigneur ?" replied the Jesuit
Father. " Surely you do not fear Mademoiselle de la Fayette?
she is but a child." " You are a simple man," replied the
Cardinal, pressing the Priest's hand; "but you will have to
learn the wickedness of the world. Know then that this
child has had it in her mind to ruin all."
Notwithstanding the discontent— nay, even the abject
terror — of the powerful Cardinal, Louis continued his visits,
which always took place in the grilled parlour : for although
as King he had a right to enter the monastery he never took
advantage of this royal privilege.
Upon the foundation of the monastery of Chaillot, for
which Henrietta Maria of England herself chose the house,
Mile, de la Fayette, now Sister Louise-Angelique, was sent
as one of the foundresses, and was elected Superior there on
the decease of Mother L'huillier. After the death of Louis
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 251
in God's good time, to become a true Visitation nun.
I think, if I am not mistaken, that you are not
content simply to make acts requisite for your
training in perfection, but you want to feel and be
conscious that you have made them. This satisfac
tion you should give up, and content yourself with
saying to God without sensible feeling: " I wish with
all my heart to perform such and such practices of
virtue for Thy good pleasure." Then perform them
XIII., Louis XIV., Charles II., and James II. of England,
Anne of Austria, and Marie Therese, all continued to frequent
the monastery in order to learn how to sanctify respec
tively their triumphs or their misfortunes. The unfortu
nate Queen Henrietta Maria took up her residence there.
Mile. D'Aumale, afterwards Queen of Roland, the Princess
Louise Hollandine, daughter of Frederick V. of Bohemia
(the champion of Protestanism in Germany) and grand
daughter of James I. of England, were instructed by and
lived with the nuns. Later, Marie Beatrice, widow of
James II., lived at the monastery. Yet all this concourse
of the great ones of the world did not tarnish the virtue nor
dissipate the mind of that lover of solitude and of penance,
Louise Angelique de la Fayette. She died as Superior at
Chaillot, January nth, 1665, loved and venerated by all
who knew her. It is little known that the world owes the
birth of Louis XIV. to the wise advice of this holy nun, who
pressed home upon the King his conjugal duty.
Taken from, firstly, the original manuscript letter of Pere
Caussin, S. J., to Sister de la Fayette, found amongst her
papers after her death; secondly, from the memoirs of
Mme. de Motteville, a personal friend of Sister de la Fayette;
thirdly, from the History of Louis XIII., by P. Griff et, who
had recourse to the memoir of Pere Caussin for these inci
dents.
252 SELECTED LETTERS OF
although with dryness and wish for nothing better
than in this manner lovingly to serve Him. If you
do this you will soon find yourself in possession of
that calm and holy peace so necessary to souls who
desire to live by the spirit, and not according to
their own views and inclinations. Your repose and
spiritual advancement depend, I can see, on these
things. May God fill you with Himself and give you
the grace to practice all that is taught you by her to
whose guidance He has committed you.
I am affectionately yours.
CX.
To Madame the Duchess de Montmorency (nee des
Ursins).*
Vive >|< Jesus !
MOULINS,
igth June, 1641.
MY VERY HONOURED AND VERY DEAR MADAME,
AND BY DIVINE GRACE OUR TRUE AND
BELOVED SISTER,
I bless and thank our good God for enabling
you so courageously to show forth the power of His
divine Love. Your entrance into Religion will be
for His greater glory and for the happiness of our
* When becoming a postulant at the Visitation, the
Duchess de Montmorency wished not only to renounce her
titles of nobility, but also to change her baptismal name of
Marie-Felice, a custom which was not usual at that time.
She was named Marie after Marie de Medicis, and Felice
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 253
little Congregation. O my dearest Sister, My well
beloved of God, with what overflowing consolation
you have rilled my soul ! I have just received your
letter, which has been a long time on the road, and
I now write in haste not to lose the opportunity of
this messenger who goes direct to Lyons, as I am
anxious to tell you that I consider that in no way
have I now either the strength or the capacity to
undertake the superiorship of any of our monas
teries.
The Bishop and our Sisters, the latter very un
willingly, have partly consented not to have me
re-elected here. Still, I assure you if his Lordship
gives me an obedience to go to you I do not think I
could possibly have a command more to my liking,
and I pray God if this is His will that He may inspire
the Bishop to send me. It would be an immense
consolation to me to give the veil to one so full of
desire as you are to revive the true spirit of our
Blessed Father. May our good God complete in
you the high perfection which He has so gloriously
begun.
I am most truly your poor humble and unworthy
servant in Our Lord, etc.
after her maternal uncle Felix Peretti (Pope Sixtus the
Fifth). At her clothing she dropped these names and was
from henceforth only known as Sister M. Heariette. She
became Superior at Moulins some years after the death ol
St. Jane Frances.
254 SELECTED LETTERS OF
CXI.
To a Novice.
Vive ^ Jesus!
{Undated.}
MY VERY GOOD AND DEAR BROTHER,
I have been absent for four weeks, and only
yesterday on my return received your letter. It
gave me, I assure you, very great consolation, and
I am full of gratitude to the God of divine goodness
for His mercies to you. The evil spirit cannot give
this attraction you speak of; he draws us away from
good. On the other hand, our loving Saviour sheds
His perfume in our hearts, so that young souls may
be drawn to follow Him by the sweetness of His
odour.
Rejoice, then, in this grace with great humility,
rny dearest brother, and by means of it grow stronger
in your vocation and in the practice of all virtue,
above all in that of self-renunciation, so that you
may advance in union of soul with God. Give your
self wholly into His hands. That done, have no
fear of the evil spirit but of God alone, for, having
quitted all things and yourself in your desire to
belong to Him, Satan can do you no harm. Go
forward quite simply, ruminating but little. The
affection I feel for you, as a mother for her son,
ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL 255
draws from me these words of advice, but I know
the best counsel is not wanting to you where you are.
May God lead you Himself to the height of perfection
to which He has called you, and always keep you
within His holy hand. I never forget to ask this
of His Goodness. Neither do you forget me when
speaking to Him.
Believe me, I am, and always will be,
Your most affectionate, etc.
Printed in E
BX 4700 .C56 A413 1918 SMC
Chantal , Jeanne-Francoise de
Selected letters of Saint
Jane Frances de Chantal
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